KA.DER, which advocates equal representation of women at all fields, has set the target for “half the seats” on its 25th anniversary. On March 4, 2022 in Swissotel, organization administration met with journalists, authors and artists and shared future projects.
KA.DER, which was established on March 4, 1997, celebrated the 25th anniversary of its journey on ensuring equal representation at all layers of all decision-making mechanisms that are constituted with an elected board, from employment to media and from politics to academics.
Documentary on the first 18 MP’s of the Turkish Parliament is on the way
In addition to Şirin Tekeli School of Politics and UN Women projects, KA.DER is filming a documentary on the first 18 MP’s of the Turkish Parliament elected in 1935. 40-minute documentary will serve as a milestone in the history of Turkish Documentary Filming.
Current and ongoing projects of KA.DER are as follows:
- UN WOMEN: Reinforcement of Women for Equal Political Participation and Decision Making Mechanisms
- NORWAY II: Gender Equality Watch in Municipalities
- SIDA: Women for Democracy
- SABANCI NGO: We Reinforce Womenin Local Administrations
- TACSO-3: Equal Political Representation Workshop with West Balkan Countries (Kosovo, Republic of North Macedonia, Albania, Turkey)
- ŞİRİN TEKELİ SCHOOL OF POLITICS
- TURKEY REPORT – 8th of March
- VISUAL COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGNS
- 8th of March, 8 COUNTRIES, 8 WOMEN: Online Meeting – Power Struggle of Women – 18th of March, 2022
- DOCUMENTARY: Documentary Film on the First 18 MP’s of the Turkish Parliament
- PUBLICATIONS
ABOUT KA.DER
Established on March 4, 1997, KA.DER is a women’s organization which advocates equal representation of women in all fields. KA.DER assumes gender equality as a prerequisite of democracy in all decision making mechanisms and organs that are constituted by an elected board (politics, academia, employmeny, media and so on).
Women in Turkey has proven themselves in different social layers however they are far from equal representation in senior level management, especially politics. In order to negate this inequality, to ensure participation of all members of the society in decision making processes, to endorse the female experience and solution making ability of women in politics, KA.DER was established in March 1997 with the purpose of increasing female participation and representation rate in all decision making mechanisms and organs that are constituted by an elected board thus ensuring the facilititaion of true-pluralist democracy and gender equality.
Taking into consideration the determining factor of politics on society, KA.DER initially aims, as its primary goal, to ensure equal representation in politics. Equal representation in politics will make gender equality an easily achievable target for all other fields.
What does KA.DER do?
- Increases the awareness of gender equality in social and political life against the male-dominant hegemony,
- Helps eliminate social, economical, cultural and legal barriers that restrict female participation in politics,
- Helps facilitate special temporary preventive laws and legislations of political parties to ensure equal representation,
- Helps eliminate discriminative statements against women from laws and policies,
- Helps the formation of laws and regulations that will ensure rights and freedom of women,
- Reinforces women to render them able to gain, defend and expand their rights and freedoms,
- Reinforces female political party members, renders them visible in their political parties and encourages them to become a candidate in local and national elections,
- Helps lobbying, organization, solidarity movements and training programs between female members of the parliament for the purpose of increasing work and force union on matters related to female problems and policies
KA.DER Principles
- Fight against all kinds of discrimination,
- Maintain equal distance to all political parties
- Work with all female MP’s and members of women branches of all political parties for a common purpose and at an equal distance
- Reflect and extend the “female perspective” in all plans and programs,
- Ensure Gender Mainstreaming in all policies and programs.
Which Female Candidates does KA.DER support?
- Female-oriented perspective,
- Determined to eliminate all kinds of discrimination and violence against women,
- Secular Republican candidates who has respect for human rights and believes in true democracy and supremacy of law,
- Advocates of civil society,
- Against fanaticism, zealotry, racism, social pollution, violence, war and for environment protection
- Honest, principled and unifying character,
- Participates in politics for the true purpose of being the voice of woman and the society.
CURRENT PROJECTS
PRESS RELEASE FOR THE 25th ANNIVERSARY OF KA.DER and INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY, 8th of MARCH
There has been significant and transformative social events in the quarter-century equality struggle since the establishment of our NGO, which we named KA.DER (literally meaning “destiny” in Turkish language) as a reference to the struggle of women against the “destiny” imposed on women by men, on March 4, 1997. Century long struggle of the Feminist movement procured acceptance in the global community that gender equality is a matter of human rights and democracy. As a result of the feminist movement, international human rights agreements which facilitated an equal life in both private life and public life were created. Human rights of women has been acknowledged as a “categorized right”, undisputedly.
Undisputed acknowledgment of gender equality commenced with singular objections, later transforming into collective movements through accumulation and unification. Objections that were raised in singular form a century ago were transformed into the unified objections of millions of women who rioted in streets all over the world, sometimes at the risk of their own lives, only to be entitled to take decisions related to their own lives and bodies, to occupy their living space both in private and public fields and to see the world through the eyes of all humanity.
Rising voices of and heavy prices paid by Olympe de Gouges, who were sentenced to death by guillotine during the French Revolution; Emily Davison, the suffragette who died under the hoofs of the horse of King George V. of England during a protest for equal rights, and Nezihe Muhiddin, one of the founding members of the first political party of Turkey, Kadınlar Halk Fırkası (Women’s Public Party) can be considered as the striking examples of transformation.
Today, our world is experiencing global women strikes organized with determination for the facilitation of equality related to unearned rights, inequalities, equal pay, abortion rights and protests against war, not taking a step back despite all pressures. Although the legitimate and righteous voice “rising in the Celestial Sphere” is singular in the beginning and despite the fact that it demands something that is not being understood by the rest of humanity, eventually it imprints the new virtues of humanity and takes its place in the hall of fame of human history.
This 8th of March is unfortunately shadowed by another war. As women, we don’t give consent to any wars or any other action that is taken without consulting to us. No war has a legitimate reason. Wars result with the destruction of not only humans but also plants, animals and the rest of natural and cultural entities. Utilization of authorities by governments arising from the decision making mechanism seats they occupy as a result of elections shall not be used without receiving the consent of the public and exercise of such authority for destructive purposes rather than peaceful politics shall be acknowledged as a crime against humanity. Security shall not be established by wars and armaments, it is only possible through disarmament. As long as disarmament cannot be maintained, any state can legitimize a war on the grounds of “national security”. A state can assume the weapon of another state is an existential threat for it and claim this as a reason for its own armament. All states, international organizations and supra-state organizations are responsible for the facilitation of peaceful politics rather than military solutions. We expect all states to implement global disarmament agreements as an ultimate goal of humanity. As long as wars continue, humanity will be either the perpetrator or the victim, either the witness or indirect culprit. No institution, reason or ideal could exert the right or reason to create unrepairable mass traumas in societies and to create damage that will endure for generations. Individual and mass disarmament is the only assurance of humanity. If nobody has weapons, then nobody will be under threat.
Us women are working for a better future in which the 8th of March will not be a day of the calendar symbolically reserved for women but a day which we transform into the symbol of our struggle for facilitation of peace and equality for all humanity. We are experiencing a life imposed on us by male-dominant administrative mind rather than the one we desire which is peaceful, egalitarian, fair and free society.
Women are still expected to live a life in which they are deprived of their most basic human rights such as equality of education and employment or taking decisions related to their own lives. Instead of implementing determined programs to end domestic violence, anti-feminist conservatives are talking about regression of women rights and as it is the case in the whole world, also in Turkey we are still talking about cancellation of alimony, amnesty to marriage-related crimes, withdrawal from Istanbul Agreement and so on.
We will not negotiate on our rights. Pressure will not discourage women from their righteous claims. As women, we rebel the parliament for Istanbul Agreement, rebel in streets for equal pay, honorable work environment fit for our most basic human rights. Rather than letting them revoke our existing rights, we will continue our struggle until true equality is maintained. We are organized, we are righteous and we are the winners of consciouses. We will earn our equal representation right and will claim half of these seats.
When we look at how the world is governed today, despite the fact that political maps have changed, male-dominant order of war and exploitation has not changed a bit and the male-dominant hegemony does not promise anything else. Feminism and women propose a different world order against this world which is full of suffering, pain, poverty, violence and discrimination. Women struggle to obtain the world and politics of today and tomorrow.
Policies that do not heed the words and requests of women will remain under the wreckage they left behind. In order to abstain from this male-dominant vicious cycle, which brought nothing but destruction to our world and to provide constructive solutions to our problems, all world needs to listen to the rising voices of women.
National and international credibility of the women rights movement in Turkey is empowered by its touch of life, abundance of solutions, realistic and sincere approach and just and righteous cause. History will erase the mentality that resists against legitimate and righteous claims of women. We are empowered by our righteousness and we are the only power to rewrite history once we unite! A life that ignores women is not our destiny!
WE ARE THE FUTURE, WE DECIDE OUR DESTINY
Nuray Karaoğlu
Chair
