ARE YOU READY TO MEET ŞİRİN?

Who is Şirin? She is all women and girls who are fighting for their health, education, or careers; who are subjected to violence, married early or forcibly, whose sexual health and reproductive health needs are not met, who are expected to sacrifice their careers for disproportionate care work at home. In short, all women and girls who want to plan their lives... Şirin, the face of our She Can Plan project, which we launched with Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands with the aim of empowering women and girls, carries the voices of millions of women in her own story. Together with Şirin, we support gender equality and women's empowerment by bringing to light the discrimination women face.

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Women want to have control over their own bodies

Women want to have control over their own bodies

 

In Türkiye, only half of the women (aged 15-49 years) make their own decisions in regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care.

INFORMATION MEANS HEALTH

INFORMATION MEANS HEALTH

 

Two out of every three girls have no idea what menstruation is, one in three young people do not know how to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections, 3 million girls undergo unsafe abortions due to unintended pregnancies every year. Comprehensive Sexuality Education is an age-appropriate, culturally relevant approach for young people to learn about their bodies, sexuality and healthy relationships by providing scientifically accurate, realistic, non-judgmental information. The Turkish compulsory education curriculum meets only one-fifth of United Nations CSE standards.

GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

 

In Türkiye, 4 in 10 women are subjected to physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime. 272 women were killed due to male violence in 2022. 8 in 10 people exposed to violence are women and 73% of them are married. 90% of the perpetrators are men, the highest rate of perpetrators is 'spouse' (63%), followed by a 'family member' (21%).

FAMILY PLANNING IS AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT NEEDS

FAMILY PLANNING IS AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT NEEDS

 

The unmet need for family planning has doubled in 5 years (from 6% to 12% between 2013 and 2018). This rate rises to 18% in the lowest wealth group and 20% among women who have not completed primary school.

CHILD, EARLY AND FORCED MARRIAGE SHOULD BE PREVENTED

CHILD, EARLY AND FORCED MARRIAGE SHOULD BE PREVENTED

 

Child marriage is a fundamental human rights violation which creates obstacles, especially for girls, to have a healthy future of opportunities and choices, free from violence. Yet; in Turkiye, one out of every four women was married before the age of 18. One out of every three girls married before 18 became a mother while still a child. Three out of every ten girls married before 18 were married to a relative. Approximately half of the women married as children experience physical violence.

REFUGEES ARE AMONG THE MOST VULNERABLE GROUPS

REFUGEES ARE AMONG THE MOST VULNERABLE GROUPS

 

Refugee women are more likely to face gender-based violence. They are more hesitant to report violence to authorities (courts, law enforcement, prosecutors) and have limited access to information and relevant protection services. The risk of child, early, and forced marriage among Syrian refugee girls is also almost twice as high as their Turkish peers. 40% of Syrian women (aged 20-49) were married before the age of 18, and 11% were married before the age of 15.

LISTEN TO WOMEN'S VOICES!

Behind all this data, there are real life stories. Women struggle with different and multi-layered types of discrimination throughout their lives. Each of the thousands of stories shows how powerful women are and how they can transform both their lives and society with equal rights and opportunities. Listen to these stories; Join your voice with women's voices, support their empowerment.

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Nalan

I took the university entrance exam and passed the first level. I didn't need to pass the second level because my father wouldn't let me go, saying "How can we send a girl away?" Everything was left unfinished.

Nalan

Emine

I got married at a very young age, I became a mother at 19. I had dreams. I strongly wanted to study. Yet my family didn't want it, because I was the only girl in the family. I always struggled and was crushed.

Emine

Ceren

I had to quit my PhD program just last week. The pressures of having a 3-year-old daughter, a job, and expectations of society became too much to bear. I couldn't carry these burdens anymore, and I had to give something up.

Ceren

Ekin

I went to the gynecologist because of polycystic ovaries and the nurse assumed I wasn't sexually active because I'm not married. It's very upsetting that she has assumptions in such sensitive situations.

Ekin

Elif

I live in a dorm. I really want to move out to my own place, but my family doesn't like the idea because I'm a girl. They think "girls shouldn't live alone".

Elif

Aynur

I was working with workers in the field. Even though no one told me anything, I started acting like a man, I didn't think I deserved to be feminine. But I love to laugh and dance.

Aynur

Around the world, one third of the newly diagnosed HIV positive cases are young people.Women and girls accounted for 46% of all new HIV infections in 2022.

The female labor force participation rate (LFPR) in Türkiye is only 35% in 2022 and has been between 30-35 percent in the last 10 years.

More than two-thirds of the 800 million people globally who cannot read are women. In Türkiye, over 1,5 million women are completely illiterate.

In Türkiye, the current female representation in the parliament is 20%.

According to a survey conducted as part of the "Business Against Domestic Violence (BADV)" project, 3 out of every 4 white-collar female employees have been subjected to at least one type of violence (mostly psychological and economic).

One in 2 refugee women cannot access hygienic menstrual products because they are "too expensive".

About the Project

"UNFPA promotes and protects the rights of women, girls and young people. It envisions a world in which they have equal rights and opportunities to develop their full potential, to freely express themselves and have their views respected, and to live free of poverty, discrimination, and violence. To achive this, let's work all together so that she can plan!"

Mariam A. Khan UNFPA Representative to Türkiye

ŞİRİN GIVES VOICE TO ALL WOMEN!

The She Can Plan Campaign focuses on the empowerment of women and girls, highlighting topics such as body awareness, sexual health, reproductive health, the right to education, the right to employment, violence against women, and child marriages. The face of this project, which we are carrying out together with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is Şirin, who blends the voices of millions of women from Turkiye into her own story. Şirin is not only the bearer of her own life story but also the voice of her mother and the women who will come after her. Her voice carries the hope of a horizon where women can plan their own lives, become empowered by learning their rights, get to know their bodies, and protect themselves by getting information about their health.

ŞİRİN IS THE WHITE COLLAR AYŞE IN THE PLAZA, TAILOR LEYLA IN THE TOWN, SHEPHERD ZEYNEP IN THE VILLAGE…

Şirin, sounds like "She" in English, is a common Turkish female name, actually represents all the women and girls.

Sometimes not allowed to study, sometimes forced into marriage, sometimes escaping from persistent stalking and violence, sometimes stuck between motherhood and career... The stories of discrimination are endless, but they have one thing in common: BEING A WOMAN.

Şirin is the common name of women who set out to change these stories of discrimination, add their voices to those of other women, and grow stronger and empower others. Şirin is the voice of our shared dream.

WOMEN ARE GETTING EMPOWERED DESPITE VARIOUS RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

The common point in the stories of the women from the field we encountered in our different projects is the violation of their rights because they are women, and the common theme is their feelings of empowerment and achievement. Despite all the difficult conditions, we see that when women are informed, supported, and given opportunities, they reverse these stories, become stronger, and work with all their might to support other women. The empowerment of women shapes the future by creating a butterfly effect.

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