In the Words of Tümay Ulukaya: “CSW68 reminds me that we are not alone in our pursuit of gender equality”

Tümay Ulukaya, computer engineer with a high degree, is the board member of the Red Pepper Association, a civil society organization based in Istanbul, Türkiye. Participating for the first time in the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) held in New York from March 11th to 22nd with the support of UN Women, Ulukaya highlights the importance of the network established among civil society organizations, women's groups, and activists, and the support and solidarity they provide to each other.

“As the Red Pepper Association, we continue our efforts to create a more just world where gender equality is achieved. Our association was accredited with consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 2017. We participate in the CSW meetings every year and we organize parallel events. This year, I attended the meetings representing our association for the first time in New York.

Participating in CSW68 was an exciting and empowering experience for me. Working in solidarity with women across the globe for a better world and realizing that the problems we face are not unique to us but are experienced collectively by women worldwide, was truly extraordinary.

At CSW68, along with the Women’s Coalition in Türkiye and the Association for Combating Sexual Violence, we organized a joint parallel event titled “Crisis as a Continuum: The Gender Implications, Issues, and Solutions of Disasters.” In our event, we discussed the impact of disasters on women, children, and disadvantaged groups based on our experiences with the February 6 earthquakes and discussed inclusive and effective solutions to overcome these impacts. The chairwoman of the US Women’s Caucus, Iranian women, and women from neighboring countries attended our event. This sense of solidarity and unity was very valuable.

As an association, we are working to end all forms of discrimination and violence. We advocate for the implementation of important international agreements such as the Istanbul Convention, CEDAW, and the Lanzarote Convention. At the CSW, together with civil society organizations, we raised the issue of the Istanbul Convention. It was very exciting to receive support from women from every country.

We plan to increase awareness on gender equality and women’s empowerment by sharing the knowledge and experiences gained at CSW sessions with our association members and stakeholders. The networks and relationships we established at CSW will help us to expand the activities of our association and to plan and implement our projects more effectively. These relationships are invaluable for developing joint projects, exchanging information, and obtaining financial support.

I am very happy to be one of the 4,800 civil society representatives who participated in CSW68 this year. We established a communication network with civil society organizations from all over the world and conveyed messages of solidarity. All of these experiences reminded me, as an activist, that we are not alone in our pursuit of gender equality and that together we are much stronger.”

The participation of Tümay Ulukaya to the CSW68 was supported by UN Women Türkiye through the “Strong Civic Space for Gender Equality” project funded by the European Union.