Women, Children, and Entrepreneurship

In these painful days when we are shaken by news of missing persons, violence, and abuse involving our children; when women are subjected to violence in the middle of the street or within their families, and children are also exposed to this violence, and when, unfortunately, we as a society have become desensitized to this sad picture, it is so difficult to say something, to write, or even to breathe!

In these distressing days when our throats are tight and our tears do not stop, we are in such need of being able to say, "good things are happening too!" Are happy and productive days, filled with love and respect, where our women, our children, and the entire society can take a peaceful breath, really that far away? What happened to people; where are the helpful, compassionate, respectful, and hardworking people? Or, as in that famous sentence by Yaşar Kemal: "Those good people rode their beautiful horses and rode away..."? While I was thinking this, flowers of hope began to bloom within me with some good news from Hatay.

The news I received was about the "Hızlakapında" initiative, founded by a dear female entrepreneur from Hatay, Seda Eryılmaz Emir, to safely and quickly deliver the organic and local products of beautiful Hatay—which is trying to heal the wounds of the earthquake—to all corners of Turkey. Hızlakapında is actually a virtual marketplace that can be accessed via the address https://hizlakapinda.com and a mobile application that can be downloaded to mobile devices.

What distinguishes this application from its peers and, in my opinion, makes it much more valuable is that it is the entrepreneurial story of a team consisting of women. Originally from Hatay and present in Hatay during the February 6, 2023, Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes, Ms. Seda is an earthquake survivor who suffered great material and moral losses and laid her loved ones to rest. What happened after the earthquake shook her deeply as well, but despite everything, she decided that something had to be done and rolled up her sleeves. She developed a business model for the organic and local products produced by the hardworking women of Hatay to be offered for sale and delivered quickly throughout Turkey. The greatest source of motivation in this business model has been children and women. When the wishes and dreams of children combined with the meticulousness of women, a wonderful business emerged, and I think they will do much better things soon and we will hear their names more often. We, too, can contribute to this beautiful initiative and support the women and children of Hatay by placing orders, downloading the application, and informing those around us.

Personally, I have an unchangeable conviction that societies where women and children are happy will sooner or later be peaceful, developed, and prosperous. Sociological data and historical realities also support this conviction of mine. One of the most important characteristics of developed countries, in my opinion, is that women are supported in terms of entrepreneurship and productivity, and they have the conditions and social support to put their initiatives into practice. In Turkey, there are grant or loan supports from some public institutions, primarily KOSGEB, as well as municipalities, private organizations, and NGOs, for women to engage in entrepreneurial activities and for the number of female entrepreneurs to increase. These supports are very good and commendable, but in my opinion, what is important is the social support that we will provide!

As members of society, we can provide social support to female entrepreneurs by collaborating with them, contributing to their production, purchasing their goods or services, and raising awareness about this issue in our circles. Because female entrepreneurs really, truly need our support!