| Turkey-Hand in Hand for Women in
Urfa Elcin Sener - The New Anatolian/Ankara |
| Many women in Turkey become victims of honor killings and violence
within their families; many become one of several wives in a polygamic
household; many are excluded from social life and become mothers at a very
young age; many die at a very young age; and many of them are isolated
from life with multiple children and still pregnant, while other young
girls of the same age go to university. How much right do women have over
their own lives? What would you do if you were forced to live helplessly and silently within four walls, your talents wasting away, knowing that you would never be able to rebel against the rules? Violence is silently accepted in closed societies. In modern societies, even though the type of violence differs, it still shows itself. Violence is a biological, emotional and economic problem which mostly affects the lives of women. Professional and amateur women photographers, coming together to protest violence against women, are revealing their thoughts about the issue through their photography. Women photographers gathered together under the title "For Women, By Women" are hoping to draw the attention of women's groups and trying to emphasize the level of violence against women in Turkey. Women photographers began their movement last year by selling their pictures at auctions and donating the proceeds to Mersin's Independent Women Solidarity Association. They have continued to voice their concern about violence against women in Turkey by exhibiting their pictures throughout the country. They also participated in the United Nations Population Fund campaign held to protest violence towards women towards the end of last year. The campaign "For Women, By Women" won the Istanbul Photography and Cinema Amateurs Association's (IFSAK) Annual Photography Award in 2005. The women photographer's adventure began with only 111 members and today has reached more than 200 members. Women photographers who live in all corners of both Turkey and the world support each other every single day. This time women photographers are supporting women in Sanliurfa (Urfa) in Turkey's southeast. They are also going to hold an exhibit in Izmir, after having shown their pictures in Istanbul, Diyarbakir, Duzce, Canakkale, Kars, London, Washington DC, and Sanliurfa. The pictures of some Turkish women photographers who live in various parts of the world such as Japan and the U.S., and also women photographers from Izmir, will also contribute their works to the exhibition. Proceeds from the exhibit will go to Sanliurfa's "Life House Women Solidarity Association" which supports local women who are victims of family violence or harassment. The exhibit "For Women, By Women" can be seen at the Alsancak Culture Center in Izmir's Konak Municipality through Sept. 30. The exhibition can then be seen at the Cetin Emec Art Gallery in Izmir on Oct. 2-15. |