Precisely 1.5 years have passed since the 6 February 2023 earthquakes that shook the whole Türkiye, but the needs are still immense. Approximately 650,000 people in the region still live in temporary settlements. Women and girls, in particular, experience difficulties accessing health, education and employment. For these reasons, their protection needs are higher. With the financial support of the Government of Japan and in partnership with KAMER Foundation,  Women and Girls Safe Spaces (WGSS) in Adıyaman and Malatya works to help women and girls empower. Let’s hear more from the empowered women.

Adıyaman, Türkiye - Around half of the 650,000 people living in container cities in the earthquake region are women and girls. In addition to basic needs such as shelter, access to clean water and hygiene, women and girls also have specific needs in health and protection. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in cooperation with the KAMER Foundation, and with the financial support of the Government of Japan, works to empower women and girls through Women and Girls Safe Spaces (WGSS) by providing reproductive health counseling and protection services including combating violence against women.

Aysun (32), a mother of 2, who had a hard time because of the physical and psychological violence she was exposed to by her husband; Gül, who has been receiving only 500 TRY alimony for her 5 children for the last 8 years from her ex-husband; and Münire (55), who lost her house in the earthquake and tried to ensure her daughter study despite all the difficulties, are only a few of those women. What they have in common is that they are empowered women with the support of UNFPA and KAMER.

The changing lives at the Adıyaman Women and Girls Safe Space

Gül divorced her husband 8 years ago, and took full responsibility of her 5 children, but the alimony amount of 500 TRY has not changed at all in the last 8 years. “What expense of my 5 children can I afford with 500 TRY right now?” she questions this injustice. Stating that her awareness on many issues increased after she discovered the Women and Girls Safe Space, Gül says that she learned that she could take legal action to increase the alimony amount and that she hired a lawyer through the guidance of the center, and that she will file a lawsuit to demand her rights.

“Right when I was about to fall, they grabbed my hand. They lift me up.” says Gül while describing how UNFPA - KAMER support empowered her, and adds: “Now I feel much stronger. I know I’m not alone.”

Aysun, the mother of two children, had been going through difficult times for a long time because of the physical and psychological violence from her husband. The young woman had been postponing divorce for years due to social pressure and the hope of getting better. She finally found the courage and support she was looking for at the Women and Girls Safe Space in Adıyaman. Stating that she received both financial and psychosocial support from the center, Aysun said, “They took very good care of me. I really felt that I was not alone and I was very happy. This is something I've felt for the first time in my life."

The hardest days of Aysun’s life are now over. She is now enrolled in a university and preparing for the civil servant exam. She describes the change in herself and her life as follows: “Now I know, I can achieve on my own, I can stand on my feet.”

Münire, a mother of 3 children, is just one of the hundreds of thousands of women who lost their homes in the earthquake that turned their lives upside down. While trying to hold on to life again with her family, her biggest priority is to send her daughter to school; “I couldn't study, but no matter what, I stand behind my daughter and will do my best to help her study and get a job,” she says.

Münire, who participated in awareness raising session on reproductive health and protection conducted by the Women and Girls Safe Space for women in the neighborhoods affected by the earthquake, explains that she became informed and empowered about personal hygiene, women's health and violence against women; “I also tell my husband, there are laws, there are institutions. If you make a mistake, I will report you, they are on my side,” she says.

Serap, social worker at Adıyaman Women and Girls Safe Space, describes the process they went through after the disaster: "We experienced the earthquake, too. Then we immediately went to the field and tried to reach women and children first."

She says that they regularly make field visits with social workers, psychologists and nurses, identify the needs of women, organize awareness raising sessions on gender-based violence, reproductive health, prenatal and postnatal care and provide psychosocial support and guidance.

UNFPA, with the support of its partners, has been supporting women and girls on the ground since the first day of the earthquakes. With the financial support of the Government of Japan and the cooperation of KAMER Foundation, we continue to provide reproductive health and protection services including gender-based violence prevention and response through our women and girls safe spaces.