Youth activists and advocates Kerem Bürsin celebrate HeForShe’s 8th anniversary in Turkey
HeForShe lawyer Kerem Bürsin (middle) at a workshop with young people from all over Turkey to celebrate the 8th anniversary of the HeForShe movement in the country. Photo: UN Women/İlkin Eskipehlivan.
The HeForShe movement celebrated eight years of defending gender equality, globally and in Turkey. To celebrate this anniversary, renowned Turkish actor and HeForShe advocate Kerem Bürsin together with young activists gathered to discuss how to advance gender equality and transform harmful masculinities.
Young activists from across Turkey met with HeForShe lawyer and famous actor Kerem Bürsin at a workshop to celebrate the movement’s eighth anniversary on September 20 in Istanbul. The meeting offered a space for young people to have an honest debate about gender inequalities, ways to identify these inequalities and how to transform society to achieve a future with gender equality.
At the event, Bürsin, who was announced as a HeForShe champion in December 2021, highlighted the importance of solidarity for gender equality and the important role that men play in it: “I am very grateful to to have met with young friends and worked with them to achieve it. achieve gender equality. Hearing their challenges and their ideas to overcome those challenges makes me feel that change is possible and that together we can do it.”
According to a recent report by UN Women, at the current rate, it will take about 300 years to achieve gender equality. In this regard, the participants emphasized the important role that men should play in accelerating progress.
“Participating in this workshop made me aware of the gender inequalities that still exist in our society and what kind of privileges I have just because I am a man,” said Şerif Esin, a young computer engineering student from Urfa. a border town with Syria. . “I also understood the reasoning behind some behaviors that I didn’t notice before. There are certain expectations in society such as “men should not cry or dance”. What if I want to cry or what if dancing is the best way to express myself?”
Young people from all over Turkey met with HeForShe lawyer Kerem Bürsin to celebrate the movement’s eighth anniversary in the country. Photo: UN Women/İlkin Eskipehlivan.
Speaking at the event, HeForShe Türkiye Coordinator Sinem Aydın said: “Traditional norms and values assigned to men and women from birth are some of the root causes of the inequalities we witness today. Men should to realize the privileges they have just because they are men and stand shoulder to shoulder with women to achieve gender equality”.
After the discussion, the young people jointly created slogans and banners that were posted on social media, including the hashtag #IfNotMeWho. The banners will become an online exhibit that will be displayed and promoted as part of the ongoing campaign.
HeForShe Türkiye and Kerem Bürsin will continue to work together with young people across the country to facilitate discussions and raise awareness about gender equality, harmful masculinities and the role men play in transforming society.
