Gülseren Onanç
Last night was one of the best days of my life. We organized SES Women of the Year 2022 Award Ceremony at the Pera Museum, attended by nearly two hundred guests. It was an evening of gratitude and honour for us. As SES Equality and Solidarity Association, we wanted to thank women and LGBTQs who resisted against the patriarchal system in Turkey and around the world in 2022 with a plaque of appreciation. The Iranian, Afghan, Ukrainian women, anti-war Russian journalists and women who resisted against the authoritarian regime in Turkey know that we have a common struggle. A win for one will be a win for all. At the award ceremony, Iranian women activist Parastoo Salehi thanked women in Turkey for their solidarity: “We are not only fighting for the compulsory headscarf, we want freedom now.”
The first word that can summarise 2022 for women is “resistance”
They resisted all wars, especially the Russia-Ukraine War.
They resisted against systematic violence against women and femicides.
They resisted against the pressures of reactionary powers, especially in Afghanistan and Iran
They resisted to protect their trees, forests, streams, and green spaces.
They resisted for free and autonomous universities.
They resisted sexual abuse, sexual orientation, and discrimination against LGBTI+ individuals.
They resisted against low wages, mobbing and union hatred.
The second word that sums up 2022 for women is “hope”
With their courage, determination, success and exemplary solidarity, women provided hope for our country and the world.
We tried to be the voice of women’s resistance and courage in 2022 at the Equality, Justice, Women Platform, the media outlet of the SES Equality and Solidarity Association. With our feminist perspective, we shared the stories of women who questioned the patriarchal system and heralded the possibility of a different system, with our followers through our Turkish and English bulletins and social media accounts. The Women’s Voice newsletters, in which we compile the stories of resisting women, shed light on the dark world every week and promoted hope.
We selected the nominee list of “SES Women of the Year 2022” from the women whose news and stories we wrote about during the year.
While choosing the women of the year candidates from Turkey and the world, we considered the following criteria: to be a pioneer in the struggle for women’s rights, to set an example with an egalitarian and feminist stance, to resist systematic oppression, to contribute to women’s solidarity, to inspire women with their successes and to be hope with their struggles.
More than 1200 people voted for the nominees. The Women of the Year 2022 list was revealed as a result of this voting process.
Each of the stories of SES Women of the Year 2022, which we have introduced in detail in the book, is a story of resistance and hope.
Iranian women protestors, who took the lead in the demonstrations that broke out and spread throughout the country after Mahsa Amini died in custody by the ‘morality police’, are carrying out a ‘women’s revolution.’
Since the day the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, it has continued to gradually deprive women of many rights. Afghan women resisting the Taliban do not remain silent even though they are banned from public spaces and parks, prevented from going to secondary and high schools, forced to wear burqas, and unable to travel without a man.
Ukrainian women are giving a life and death struggle both inside and outside of Ukraine. Russian women journalists are also resisting against the war, promoting the voice of peace.
We Will Stop Femicide Platform in Turkey continues its struggle despite the lawsuit filed against it.
Sera Kadıgil, MP for Workers’ Party of Turkey (TIP) voices the discrimination and violence that women and LGBTI+ individuals face on the parliamentary platform.
The women detainees of theGezi Protests, Mücella Yapıcı, Çiğdem Mater and Mine Özerden are resisting creatively and with the therapeutic power of being a woman.
Women like Süheyla Doğan are fighting for environmental rights in İkizdere, Akbelen, Kaz Mountains and Validebağ.
The Keep Gokturk Green Initiative has been resisting for months against the destruction of green areas, lawlessness, and corruption.
Boğaziçi University academics have been protesting every week for over a year, turning their backs on the rectorate, demanding that the university be an autonomous and democratic institution.
Women at the forefront of workers’ resistance are fighting against low wages, mobbing, and union hatred.
1000 Women for Freedom to Aysel Tuğluk campaigned to secure the release of Aysel Tuğluk, by voicing the call for the right to life of sick prisoners in person.
Against male-dominated, populist, polarizing and anti-democratic discourses, SPOD Association voices LGBTI+’s demands for equal citizenship.
LGBTI Families, who stand by their children against the hate campaign targeting LGBTI+s and their organizations, display an exemplary resistance.
Ebrar Karakurt comes together with girls who do not have access to sports and encourages them and aims to open a space for girls to reach their potential by creating the necessary opportunities for them.
Gülşen inspires all women by standing up to the sexist discourses produced by a male-dominated understanding.
Hazal Sipahi, the producer and host of the Mental Clitoris podcast, talks to women about sex and sexuality which has been seen as a taboo.
Beats By Girlz supports young women who are after their own music and want to tell their own stories in order to achieve gender equality in the Turkish music industry.
Recently on the cover of Forbes magazine in Germany and on the BBC’s list of the 100 most inspiring and influential women in the world, Dr. Dilek Gürsoy inspires young women.
For the first time, we will present the Lifetime Achievement Award, to individuals and organizations that have been fighting for women’s rights for years.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2022, the Women’s Coalition continues its struggle by providing solidarity and lobbying activities on gender equality, equal citizenship, and equal representation in politics.
We are indebted to those who gave us hope with their resistance this year.
We would like to thank Ramize Erer, who enlivened the SES Women of the Year booklet and award plaque with her colourful cartoons.
I recommend you to read the stories of award winners of SES Women of the Year 2022.
We owe a debt of gratitude to the SES Women of the Year, who gave us hope with their resistance.