The Bilkent Women’s Studies Society held its first-ever Women’s Summit on February 25 and 26 at Mithat Çoruh Auditorium, bringing together students from different universities, experts in various fields and people from every walk of life. The summit consisted of eight sessions, each followed by a question and answer period; speakers were academicians, writers and politicians from various feminist backgrounds.
The speaker at the first session, Assoc. Prof. Bilge Mutluay Çetinkaya, talked about creative demonstrations in American women’s protests in her presentation titled “I Will Burn My Underwear If Necessary.” Next, Prof. Alev Özkazanç discussed “Feminist Theory and Psychoanalysis” and Ecehan Balta offered her perspective on ecofeminism. The first day concluded with İlkay Kaya’s presentation on “Masculine Love Aesthetics.”
On the second day of the event, Aylin Nazlıaka discussed what it means to be a female MP and Yıldız Ramazanoğlu provided insight into the relationship between Islam and feminism. At the third session of the day, Prof. Zafer Toprak gave a presentation on “The Feminist Movement in Turkey From the Late Ottoman Empire to the Early Turkish Republic.” The speaker for the final session was Seray Şahiner, who discussed “The Other Woman as the Leading Role in Turkish Movies.” The event concluded with Dr. Nilgün Fehim Kennedy’s closing remarks, followed by the presentation of certificates to the attendees.