KADEM’s 5th int’l summit held in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

The fifth International Women and Justice Summit, organized every two years by the Women and Democracy Association (KADEM) together with the Family and Social Services Ministry, has been held in Istanbul with the main theme of “cultural codes and women.”

The summit was organized to draw attention to the problems that prevent women from reaching their rights and to address the issue from different dimensions, according to the statement made by the association.

The summit started on Nov. 4 with the opening speeches of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Family and Social Services Minister Derya Yanık and Saliha Okur Gümrükçüoğlu, the head of KADEM.

As the main theme of the summit was determined as “cultural codes and women,” the perceptions of femininity produced by various cultures in modern times were put on the table, while the participants shared the life experiences that are involved in the construction process of these perceptions.

Issues like women as subjects, women’s participation in the workforce, their daily lives and public space experiences, as well as women’s images in the art world, were discussed by activists, journalists, scientists and artists on the second day of the summit.

Fatima Gailani, Afghan politician and influential women’s rights activist; Hayat Sindi, a medical scientist and one of the world’s leading names in the field of biotechnology; and Sultana Tafadar, the U.K.’s first headscarfed criminal lawyer and advisor to the King of England, were among the participants to share their thoughts and experiences to the audience.

Nazma Khan, who started a global movement called “World Hijab Day,” and Syrian award-winning director and activist Waad Al-Kateab were also to be hosted in the summit’s second day.

Journalist and award-winning filmmaker Rizwana Hamid and actor Reshad Strik were among the other speakers.