Turkish Conversation Workshop Beneficiaries Come Together At Gender Equality Seminar
A two-day seminar on women’s rights and gender equality was held for the first graduates of the Turkish Conversation Workshop of SADA Women Development and Solidarity Centre under the Project “Strengthening the Resilience of Syrian Women and Girls” being implemented by UN Women with ILO and ASAM as implementing partners
3 June 2019
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Forty women graduating from the conversation workshop participated in the seminar of 30-31 May. The seminar aimed to inform women, who improved their Turkish languages skills during the two-month conversation workshop, on what gender equality is, how it is established and operated; enable women to acquire skills of work and make visible the skills that build self-confidence; and help women develop a perspective based on gender equality. During the two-day seminar relying on interactive group work methods, women employed the life-tree to divide into four parts of life, conducted group work accordingly and shared common experience on women’s lives through debates. The seminar also involved discussions on what the commonality in the experience of participating women meant in terms of the gender regime, what roles and responsibilities are imposed on women and what means and opportunities are enabled for women. An exercise of balance scale helped visualise the roles of men and women and roles of others in a system of balance scale.
On the theme of women’s labour, another exercise was held to help women value their domestic labour by making it more visible, and valuable. A role play focused on tasks trivialised as non-tasks, joint responsibilities viewed as women’s, and women’s power at home arising from production. An advertisement was displayed to address sexist expectations on women’s labours, and contribute to raise awareness on TV commercials and series. The socio-economic empowerment aspect of women’s work was discussed in group work; proverbs were reviewed through egalitarian lenses.
On the second day, awareness-raising activities were held on the body, about which women judged themselves and each other, but which was a highly taboo topic. The group work addressed the function of the body beyond the person’s words, behaviours and clothing in the context of social expectations regarding the body. Participants formed two-person groups first to “read bodies” of one another, then question judgmental behaviours on the body through an exercise “staring”. A second exercise on the body subject, women’s knowledge was reinforced on body functioning, and importance of internal organs. The exercise included women making presentation on body organs following a display of simulated functioning of internal organs.
The last part of the seminar featured the display of a video on women’s solidarity, emphasising how powerful women could be when they came together. The exercise “train” suggested examples of what path women should take when working together, how they could solve problems and make decisions. The seminar concluded with a discussion of social structures that brought women together in the context of women’s empowerment, exemplified by the cooperative.
On the theme of women’s labour, another exercise was held to help women value their domestic labour by making it more visible, and valuable. A role play focused on tasks trivialised as non-tasks, joint responsibilities viewed as women’s, and women’s power at home arising from production. An advertisement was displayed to address sexist expectations on women’s labours, and contribute to raise awareness on TV commercials and series. The socio-economic empowerment aspect of women’s work was discussed in group work; proverbs were reviewed through egalitarian lenses.
On the second day, awareness-raising activities were held on the body, about which women judged themselves and each other, but which was a highly taboo topic. The group work addressed the function of the body beyond the person’s words, behaviours and clothing in the context of social expectations regarding the body. Participants formed two-person groups first to “read bodies” of one another, then question judgmental behaviours on the body through an exercise “staring”. A second exercise on the body subject, women’s knowledge was reinforced on body functioning, and importance of internal organs. The exercise included women making presentation on body organs following a display of simulated functioning of internal organs.
The last part of the seminar featured the display of a video on women’s solidarity, emphasising how powerful women could be when they came together. The exercise “train” suggested examples of what path women should take when working together, how they could solve problems and make decisions. The seminar concluded with a discussion of social structures that brought women together in the context of women’s empowerment, exemplified by the cooperative.