I wish us all an equal and equitable world where we and everyone else understand our value.
This International Women's Day (IWD), I am grappling with complex feelings more than usual.
Growing up in Turkey, I associated feminism with resistance and collectivism. I come from a place where only women dare to exercise their right to demonstrate despite all the police brutality because women are fearless, and patriarchy is strong. Even the men opposing the government enjoy privileges arising from patriarchy, consciously or unconsciously.
In my home country, we discuss forced marriages, alimony for divorced women and their children, child marriages, women subjected to forced labour, the right to be safe, domestic violence, instances of women being attacked by random men with a Samurai sword on the street, the government insisting on women to "work-from-home" and essentially look after children, the shrinking number of abortion clinics, the right to free HPV vaccine, child abuse, and more.
The dynamic political climate in Turkey allowed many millennials like myself to become extremely engaged with politics and have a stance on every imaginable subject. I say "allowed" because I am grateful for that. It might not have worked the best for my mental health, but it surely made me a better person. It also led me to seek jobs in the non-profit sector.
Working at the UN quickly made me realize that my ideals and the position and actions of my organization did not align, so I made peace with that and decided never to define my job as something “humanitarian” in its nature. It was basically "not a corporation."
Nevertheless, I never imagined I would be so detached from any gender-focused work as I am now after starting work in Canada.
Like Labour Day, International Women’s Day also has a different meaning here in Canada. It is more corporate and less movement-oriented, more celebratory and less resistance-oriented. Of course, women still fight for equality, even in Canada. According to Government of Canada statistics, 44% of women in Canada have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence since the age of 15. There is still much to do around the gender pay gap or glass ceiling.
However, I cannot feel any connection. Since I arrived, I realized I am not fighting on the same frontier as people advocating for "gender equity" here.
First of all, I cannot make peace with any mindset that does not put poverty or class at the center of gender or any other type of inequality.
When I advocate for affordable housing for survivors of gender-based violence here, I feel restless. Affordable housing is needed by so many people in Toronto, and it goes beyond any gender. It symbolizes how the real estate and infrastructure sector drains the life out of (already dead) middle-income and low-income families and immigrants to feed itself more and more. Toronto is in a chronic housing crisis. When we advocate only for the survivors of violence, it sends out an image as if affordable housing is an isolated issue that only the "unluckiest" face rather than being the main issue affecting the lives of millions in Canada.
So, if I get the chance to speak to an elected official, I want to speak on behalf of millions of people who need affordable housing.
Another "culture" I encountered here is the prevalence of Leadership Non-Profit Organizations. Similar to old white men in higher corporate positions, there are leaders in the non-profit sector who have been leading the same organization for at least 15 years, turning the organization into a small convenience store in your neighbourhood that has been run by the same family over generations.
Due to the nature of my work, I have witnessed these types of organizations being trapped in the tiny vision of their leaders and doomed to stay the same or disappear completely, which is sad because, in Canada, strong community advocacy can actually deliver some results.
Coming across this mentality prevailing against the main idea of non-profit work has been the final nail in my coffin of detachment.
So, this IWD, I felt lost for a moment. Then, I got back to my solid ground after taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture. I cannot work on gender but not think about and do something about the women and children of Gaza. I cannot be expected to continue working while my home country was hit by the deadliest earthquake of the last decades, and hundreds of thousands of people died.
I owe so much to the feminist fight, angry feminists, women who supported me throughout my life more than any man could do, women who inspire me to keep fighting against patriarchy, and women who inspire me to be a better leader and a better person. I will continue to channel my anger towards patriarchy through the most meaningful fronts and will commit to my values and principles wherever I am.
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