In the Words of Nesrin Deli: “We found shelter under the tree we had cultivated for years”

Nesrin Deli is a shopkeeper in the Defne district of Hatay, Southeastern Türkiye and one of the founding partners of the Defne Women's Cooperative. On the morning of February 6, 2023, like everyone else, Nesrin’s life changed within minutes. At 46 years old, she had to rebuild her life in the shadow of the devastating earthquakes that shook Türkiye. The shop she had run for 23 years was reduced to rubble; however, the solidarity among women rising from the ruins became her hope—and that of many others. Having dedicated years to building a network of support within the cooperative, especially for disadvantaged women, Nesrin recounts her experience:

"On the morning of February 6, all communication networks had collapsed; our phones weren’t working. But the next day, at the same time, we all gathered at the cooperative. The cooperative was the only place where all the women, including myself, ran to. It turned out that we found shelter under the tree we had cultivated for years. I wish the destruction had not been this immense, but this was the very essence of what I had been trying to convey for years. When I had lost everything and hit rock bottom, it was the cooperative that lifted me back up.

We all knew that we could heal together, that we could hold on to life again through work and production. Living in an earthquake-affected region is extremely difficult. Some left the region, but we don’t want to leave. We know that we can rebuild our lives by working and producing. The city has not yet recovered; it may take years, but if no one else is here, we are. Our solidarity is here. This is an incredible source of strength for us. Even while the housing crisis continues, women come to the cooperative in the morning to work and earn money, then return in the evening to cook meals and take care of their children.

The core mission of the cooperative is to provide social and economic support to women. Now, women are fully aware of this and are holding on tightly—to each other and to the cooperative. Thanks to this solidarity, there is still hope in the region. Today, alongside 33 partners, we are working to provide employment for over 1,500 women in the earthquake zone, helping them rebuild their lives.

Through training programs carried out in collaboration with UN Women, KAGİDER, and Hepsiburada, we have successfully expanded our reach. For International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024, we contributed our products to the Women’s Labor, the Foundation of the Future Support Box, meeting the corporate gift needs of private sector companies. Additionally, we started selling other products through Hepsiburada. These orders have been delivered across Türkiye, symbolizing the value of women’s labor."

Standing strong through the power of women’s solidarity, Nesrin and the cooperative members represent hope and recovery in the earthquake-affected region through psychosocial counseling, entrepreneurship training, and production-oriented efforts. Women, in the wake of disasters, are not only transforming their own lives but also their communities. Engaging in production together enables women to regain economic and social empowerment. UN Women aims to ensure all women achieve income security, decent work, economic strength, and autonomy. Because we believe: Women’s labor is the foundation of the future.

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Nesrin Deli, attended the training programs conducted in collaboration with UN Women, KAGİDER, and Hepsiburada, together with the members of Samandağ Women's Cooperative, in 2023. These programs were organized within the scope of the “Enhancing Women's Leadership and Gender Equality in Politics and Business Life Project”, funded by Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.