Hosting the largest number of refugees in the world, Türkiye provides shelter to approximately 4 million refugees. 30% of the refugees are adolescent and young people and 46% of them are women. Through the " Women and Youth Support Center", funded by the British Embassy in Ankara and implemented in cooperation with Ankara Metropolitan Municipality since 2021, UNFPA has touched many lives for the empowerment of refugee women and youth, who are among the most vulnerable groups in Türkiye.
UNFPA Türkiye carried out the project with the financial support of the British Embassy and the cooperation of the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality between 2021-2023 to increase access to health and protection services and empower women and youth from both refugee and local communities. One of the most important components of the project was the 'Women and Youth Support Center' which was established in Ankara. The center provided services to thousands of women in many areas such as access to reproductive health and protection services including prevention and response to gender-based violence, social cohesion and economic empowerment.
Pashtoon is one of those women. After working on women's empowerment in non-governmental organizations in Afghanistan throughout her life, she came to Türkiye from Afghanistan 5 years ago and left her relatives, friends, profession; her whole life behind. She overcame the difficulty she experienced with adaptation with the Support Center for Women and Youth. “When I came to Turkey, I was a person who lost everything. However, after finding this center, I was able to find myself, the depression and loneliness I felt were all left behind. I see myself as a truly valuable person now,” says Pashtoon, explaining what this project has changed in her life.
Pashtoon, who first started to come to the center as a beneficiary, later met the Afghan women in her neighborhood, formed a group and directed them to the center. “This center provides women with many of the things they need socially. Women who came here to Türkiye without any relatives, or friends found someone from their hometown, even made Turkish friends and met people from different cultures. This is a very important change in their lives.”, she tells what she witnessed.
Medina, a mother of two children, who came from Afghanistan and settled in Türkiye 3 years ago, is also one of the people who met the center thanks to Pashtoon. She says that the sexual and reproductive health awareness raising sessions she attended contributed a lot to her; “I did not have the necessary information when giving birth to my first child, after what I learned here, I felt very comfortable and very safe in my second pregnancy.”
Hadeel, mother of 4 children, says, “We had a lot of difficulties at first. First of all, we are abroad, secondly, we have no relatives, we were here alone.” she says about hers life before she found the center. Hadeel has been living in Türkiye for 6 years, one of her children has cancer and the other has autism. Accessing to the health services her children need with the support she received, Hadeel now feels stronger. “The center has also helped my sick children. I feel better psychologically. It has been beneficial for both myself and my family.”
Pashtoon, on the other hand, ends her story, which she started as a beneficiary, by first working as a volunteer translator at the center, and then by being employed by the center as the Persian translator and outreach worker.Now she has returned to the working life she missed, she continues her profession as a service intermediary and reaches many women like herself. “This center has opened a new door in my life. I want to touch the lives of other women through this door, I want women to be empowered. I am ready to do whatever I can for that.”
UNFPA provided health and protection services to many refugee,migrant and local women at the Women and Youth Support Center , carried out in collaboration with the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality and with the financial support of the British Embassy in Ankara, between 2021 and 2023. Thanks to many services including sexual and reproductive health counseling and awareness raising, hygiene,, protection services, gender-based violence prevention and response including child, early and forced marriages, psychosocial support,social cohesion, economic empowerment and referrals to the vocational trainings, , many women such as Pashtoon, Medina and Hadeel supported its empowerment.
