International Day of Democracy – Interview with former SIW Vice-President Hilal Dokuzcan

As we celebrate International Day of Democracy, we interview Hilal Dokuzcan, Former SIW Vice-President from Turkey.

Hilal shared her insights into empowering young women by promoting gender equality and democracy.

Here is the full interview:

1. How can we empower and engage the next generation of young women to be active champions of democracy and decision-making in an evolving world?

First of all, while we continue to emphasize in every field that we want a real democracy, not a male democracy, it is important to create organisations that enable young women to take an active role in this transformation. The basic indicator of a true democracy is the real equality of women and men. It is not possible to talk about democracy without equal representation and equal participation of women.

It is necessary to build bridges that will unite the experience of the past with the energy of the future. Sharing experience and the spirit of solidarity are the main pillars of this bridge. It is very important to have sincere confrontations about jealousy and competition between women and to be able to transfer the lessons learned from these experiences to young women. We need to ask sincerely: Where we went wrong? Then we can find the real answers.

In the 21st century, among the efforts to identify the needs of young women, to highlight role models, to increase participation in educational processes, to emphasize the right to receive education and to use all the possibilities of technology effectively will be decisive in terms of reaching equal participation.

2. In an era of misinformation and threats to press freedom, how can we ensure the voices of women journalists are heard, protected, and amplified in the pursuit of a robust democracy?

It is very important to create local, national and international networks of women journalists and also alternative networks of communication and solidarity among women. Verification and monitoring pages and accounts should be opened. Ensuring that women journalists are more present in the media, changing the language of news in the press, will bring solidarity. Socialist International Women can lead the way in this regard.

3. What innovative strategies should be employed to break down barriers and achieve true gender equality in political participation, especially in regions of the world where women are less represented?

The women’s movement has been struggling on this issue for years. I attach great importance to the fact that this time the target audience should be young men and that there will be more work on gender equality with young men. Working with young men will especially have an impact and encourage their contribution at the highest level in this field.

New formations and alliances to ensure equal representation and equal participation are also important.

4. Could you highlight an inspiring global initiative that is making a tangible impact on promoting both gender equality and democracy?

In the 21st century, the women’s movement around the world has witnessed a number of influential actions thanks to the effective use of social media. March 8th Night Marches, the work of UN Women, the #metoo movement, protests against violence in India, the Green Wave movement in Argentina, demonstrations for the right to abortion in Poland, the LasTesis protests that started in Chile and spread all over the world, the protests in Afghanistan and Iran were very inspiring. The important point here is to find or build a model that will create an impact from global to local, from local to global and create concrete results. There is no doubt that a global initiative that has established networks with local organisations will be more successful and effective.