The "International Conference on Gender Studies in Turkey", organized for the first time this year by Sabancı University Gender and Women's Studies Center of Excellence (SU Gender), took place at Minerva Han on 9-10 December 2023.
The conference, attended by academics, researchers, and non-governmental organizations’ representatives from Turkey and other countries, included studies on gender in many fields, from employment to ecology, from technology to politics, youth, city, migration, world, art, law, and many more. 76 studies were included within the scope of the conference. While 120 speakers and moderators took part in 20 sessions held over 2 days; the total number of participants was over 300.
Stating that they aim to create a platform where current research on Turkey and research in the field of gender in Turkey will be presented and discussed and where researchers will come together at regular intervals, and that their plan is to hold this conference meeting at the same time every year, SU Gender Director Zeynep Gülru Göker said, “When we look at the conference program of this year, we can see the richness of gender studies conducted in and on Turkey. We received 220 applications through our open call. A scientific committee consisting of 67 academics from 37 different universities from Turkey and abroad evaluated the applications anonymously. 76 of them were invited to our conference."
Speaking at the opening session of the conference, Fuat Keyman, Sabancı University Vice President for Institutional Affairs and Social Impact, noted that SU Gender, which our university values very much, undertakes an important task in raising awareness in society with its research, training, and meetings and conferences, and said, "It is very important not to forget researchers working in the field of gender not only at our university but also in Turkey and even around the world, and to launch an initiative that brings these researchers together. Long-term planning of this initiative is also important."
Meltem Müftüler-Baç, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, said, “Thanks to the studies that started in a more organized manner in the 90s, a serious intellectual accumulation on gender has emerged in Turkey today. With the generation that follows them, the number of publications on Turkey on international platforms has increased. We see that studies have been carried out specifically for Turkey and indeed for the whole world, and these studies shed light on gender issues from different perspectives in comparative terms. The International Conference on Gender Studies in Turkey accomplishes an important task in terms of bringing these two groups together."
Delivering the opening speech of the conference, METU Faculty Member Feride Acar drew attention to the temporal development in the use of the concept of gender in Turkey and touched upon the impact of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in the widespread use of the definition in international law. Acar said, “The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which was accepted by the United Nations in 1979 and entered into force in 1981, is a contract to which 189 states are parties today. Turkey also ratified this agreement in 1985 and has implemented many practices in line with the demands of the agreement over the years. It continues to do so. Gender is used as a term in the CEDAW and associated documents, but the term is not defined. The CEDAW clearly states that there are stereotyped roles deemed appropriate for men and women in every society and that these are based on prejudice, traditional practices, and cultural factors. The use of this concept in international law has provided an important basis for the widespread use of in-depth research, reasoning, and conclusions about what it is in the academic world and civil society."
Dicle Koğacıoğlu 2023 Article Award Panel and Award Ceremony
On the first day of the conference (Saturday, December 9th), the winners of the Dicle Koğacıoğlu Article Award, organized for the 14th time this year in memory of sociologist Dicle Koğacıoğlu, a faculty member of our University who passed away in 2009, were announced in order to support gender-focused studies in Turkey and encourage young researchers. Ahmet Berkan Yanıkcan was found deserving of the article award, and Seyyide Sena Türkdoğan and Esra Nur Akbulak were found deserving of the incentive support. The awards were presented to the researchers following the panel held for their article presentations and moderated by Ayfer Bartu Candan, one of the award jury members.
Şirin Tekeli 2023 Research Award Panel and Award Ceremony
Within the scope of the conference, the Şirin Tekeli Research Award Panel and Award Ceremony, organized since 2017 in order to contribute to the survival, sharing, and diversification of the rich legacy left by Şirin Tekeli, was held.
Researchers who won last year's awards made presentations at the panel, which was held for the 6th time this year and moderated by Ayşe Betül Çelik, one of the award jury members. Afterwards, the 2023 winners were announced. This year, Işıl Bayraktar was found deserving of the research award, and Erol Sağlam, Selver Şahin, and Burcu Şahin were found deserving of the research incentive support.
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About Feride Acar
Prof. Dr. FERİDE ACAR received her bachelor's degree in sociology from Middle East Technical University in 1970, and her master's and doctorate degrees in political sociology from Bryn Mawr College in the USA in 1974 and 1976, respectively.
Feride Acar, who continued her teaching career at METU as a faculty member of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration between 1976 and 2015, worked as the Founding President of the METU Women's Studies Master's Program between 1994 and 2001, and served as Head of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration between 2001 and 2007.
Prof. Feride Acar was elected as a member of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1997. She also served as President of CEDAW between 2003 and 2005.
Acar, who took part as an independent expert in the Council of Europe Task Force to Combat Violence against Women from 2006 to 2008, and from 2009 to 2011 served as a member of the Council of Europe Commission that prepared the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) and she carried out the negotiations on behalf of Turkey. In 2010, she was re-elected as a member of the UN CEDAW Committee. With the entry into force of the Istanbul Convention, Acar was elected as a member of GREVIO, the supervisory body of this convention, and served as GREVIO President for two terms (from 2015 to 2019).
Throughout her career, Prof. Acar has received awards from many national and international organizations for her work in the field of women’s human rights and gender equality. Acar was awarded the Council of Europe’s Pro Merito Medal for her contribution to the construction process of the Istanbul Convention in 2019.