We can only break the chains of inequality through sisterhood!

During the week of March 8th, International Working Women's Day, in our meetings with women ranging from the poorest neighborhoods of İzmit to the highest plazas of Istanbul, I realized that the bond between us will grow stronger as we empathize with each other's lives. And it is through sisterhood that we will break the chains of inequality.   

During the week of March 8th, International Working Women's Day, I was with women living in the poorest region of İzmit one day, and on another, with the female employees of a shipyard in Yalova who have proven themselves in shipbuilding (a field known as a man's job). The next day, I met with white-collar women working in the plazas of Istanbul. 

At first glance, these are women living completely different lives, coming from different backgrounds, some defined as white-collar and others as blue-collar, but contrary to what is assumed, they have so much in common! 

There is no need to look for hope far away. I saw hope in their sparkling eyes. 

They showed us that we are not alone, and they warmed my heart with their questions and sincerity.

While I was signing my book YOU CAN DO IT, they also shared their troubles in passing. Some had me sign it to give courage to their newly appointed teacher daughter, others for their mothers, so that the suffering they endure might stop…  

One of them chose a hero from my book for herself. “I am like Nuran, who paints the walls of her village with colorful flowers,” she said. And her name was Çiçek (Flower), what a coincidence…

I saw the sadness in Çiçek's eyes. It was clear that she was hiding her troubles behind her sad smile. I asked, “How old are you?”

She said 40! 

-I said, “I learned to say 'no' at the age of 40.”

-“I went even further,” she replied.

“I realized what makes me happy at this age!”

“Happiness begins with discovering yourself!”

While we work ourselves to the bone for the happiness of our loved ones, we cast our own happiness aside. 

Some of us realize this, while others spend a lifetime without realizing it. This is a turning point, a threshold. For women, the temporal equivalent of this threshold is the age of 40!

This is such a transformation that its effect is felt not on the outside, but on the inside, in the very depths. A personal reckoning begins. An internal reckoning that no one knows about. A woman turning forty first upsets herself, with her own hands… Then she begins to rise from her ashes, to rebuild herself… 

As I was telling these things to my 40-year-old reader Çiçek while signing my book, I saw tears welling up in her eyes. It was clear that the troubles she could not express had become a burden on her shoulders. 

I got up from the signing table and hugged Çiçek. “Flowers are delicate, but they are just as full of life,” I said. 

Climb on your own shoulders. How else can you rise…

The women of this country, each of us is like a flower. We can only cast off the troubles accumulated on our shoulders by becoming stronger. 

“There is healing in disclosure,” my grandmother used to say.

All flowers must embrace one another. They must tell each other their troubles and find healing. The awakening of women will only be possible through the solidarity of sisterhood.

During the week of March 8th, I realized from our meetings with women living different lives that the bond between us will grow stronger as we empathize with each other's lives. And only through sisterhood will we be able to break the chains of inequality…