Economic Empowerment

Journalists, activists and leaders from around the world concluded the international summit by meeting in Taksim Square and then holding a demonstration on İstiklal Street, where many of İstanbul's protests and marches are held.

The mass of demonstrators chanted, sang and waved banners as they marched, demanding recognition for domestic labor, or what they called “invisible labor.”

İstanbul hosted the AWID 2012 forum this year at the Haliç Congress Center, a four-day flurry of breakout sessions, performances and workshops on subjects ranging from gender-based violence to feminist economics.

AWID Executive Director Lydia Alpízar Durán, in comments to the Anatolia news agency, said more than 2,000 women from 140 countries came together for the conference aiming to advance women's economic rights.

“We came to many conclusions. Most importantly, we learned that women from around the world must come together to build solidarity. Even though we may see different debates in different regions of the world, the struggles women face are very similar,” Durán said.

Regarding important developments in Turkey, Durán said activists and leaders discussed the pressing issue of violence against women and the importance of assuring the inclusion of gender equality in the drafting of the new constitution.

“We came together to discuss strategies that show our strength in high-level regional and international structures like the United Nations,” Durán continued, adding that women around the world are tired of their governments cutting deals for corporations and big banks and then cutting funding for social services.

Women's rights activists from countries in the Middle East and North Africa, like former Minister for Women's Affairs in Iran Mahnaz Afkhami, shared their experiences in fighting for women's rights in the midst of the Arab Spring uprisings with other advocates at the forum in what Durán called both an important opportunity for learning and understanding.