Women ready to take wings against violence

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

The ‘Taking Wings’ photo exhibition will be open through March 16 at the Şişli Memorial Hospital in Istanbul, and will later travel to other Turkish cities and abroad.

A social responsibility project called “Taking Wings” was launched March 8 at a press conference at Istanbul’s Ritz Carlton Hotel. The project is supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and seeks to draw attention to violence against women, with a photo exhibit featuring images of 32 famous Turkish women.

“People like me, who come from abroad, see Turkey as a model country. This is why your work to promote gender equality and to prevent violence against women is so important, and because the issue of gender in society is a paradox in Turkey,” the UNFPA’s Turkey Representative Zahidul Hugue said.

Hugue said that Turkey was well-positioned in many fields, but that there is still “a lot that needs to be done with regard to gender equality and violence against women. UNFPA is working with the Turkish government and non-governmental organizations to provide equal treatment for all women and young girls.”

The Taking Wings photo exhibition will be open through March 16 at Şişli Memorial Hospital in Istanbul, and will later travel to other cities and abroad. Thirty-two well-known Turkish women artists, models and musicians posed for the photographs, which were taken by award-winning photographer Cemil Ağacıkoğlu.