The word "kadın" means "woman" in Turkish, and is a variant form of the old Turkish word "katun" (hatun), which originally meant "queen". If you delve deeper into the meaning of the word "queen", you will see that it is derived from the phrase "woman ruler".
We, however, are not women who aspire to rule, nor are we individuals who will submit to patriarchal society. We believe that women have had a single agenda since the establishment of this world order: to have equal rights alongside men, and to repeatedly emphasize that they are "humans" first and foremost, regardless of their gender.
As Kadınlar Derneği (Kadın-Der), we started our journey in civil society life in Bandirma as a 7-person family we call as our sisters, friends, and companions, and we continue our journey with new companions who increase in number every day. Our association's door is open to women of all ages, cultures and beliefs and we are extremely pleased to have men who support us on this journey.
We also know from our own personal life experiences that while one woman can empathize with another woman's pain, she can be blind to her own pain and even basic rights and freedoms. For example, when a woman who has suffered physical violence from her ex-husband listens to another woman's story of violence, she can genuinely sympathize with her, but when she shares her own story, saying "I deserved the violence," she cannot see her own pain, which is the main irony of life.
For this very reason, the Kadınlar Derneği (Kadın-Der) attaches great importance to the theme of advocacy for rights in the context of gender inequality and advocates that no living being can be subjected to violence under any circumstances or conditions and that violence cannot be "deserved".
With the awareness that male violence stems from gender inequality, we try to raise awareness among our women and contribute to the production of local and national policies that will benefit gender equality. As Kadın-Der, we want to emphasize with the statement "this door is always open to you!" that we stand by our women in every aspect where they need support, such as legal, psychological, and educational support.
With love,
Kadın-Der