Women beaten up and murdered
Patriarchy, sexist language
Inadequate amount of women in every field
Catcalls
Gender pay gap
Too fat, too thin
The driver is a woman, we might be late
Do it like a man
She has short hair, must be a lesbian
Sexism ignored in school, houses, streets
Such a whore
Trans women? Men, you mean?
Abortion should be illegal
Says she’ll be a doctor, huh
What?? She has a boyfriend?
This 8th March I asked young people around me a very simple question: What should change for women?
A baby shouldn’t start life behind everyone else just because she’s was born a girl, should be treated equally in both her social and academic life. Women shouldn’t be killed for texting her ex, looking around, burning food or whatever reason. A woman shouldn’t be limited to being a woman, she should be the best director, not the best female director.
Duru
Wanting equal rights shouldn’t be seen as wanting “privileges”.
Sena
I want the mindset that suggests women can’t do certain things because they are women to change in all areas: sports, music, cinema and simply while driving. I want the sexist and degrading language to vanish.
Okyanus
I want equal and safe conditions in the public space around the world.
Altay
I want the perception of power to change: muscle strength, sexual strength, economic strength, emotional maturity and the power it brings can each exist in men and women individually. However, most of the time each gender is assigned certain qualities. I want this to change for especially for women but it’s, of course, equality for men too.
Göksu
Prejudices should be destroyed.
Damla
There should be more women integrated with the political world, so women could be represented better while making big decisions on laws. In fact, 26% of people in politics are women in Belgium. I think it will help to approach 50-50 women and men.
Teoman
Women should be able to act without fearing being judged. Being a woman doesn’t bring more responsibilities, all genders have the same responsibilities. Women shouldn’t be robbed of the right to do what they want.
Gamze
Laws should change for women.
Ece
I think women shouldn’t be seen as “successful women” when they succeed. The fact that the first questions asked are “How did being a woman affect you?” or “Did being a woman make it harder for you?” makes the situation even worse. I want women’s success to be only seen as a success.
Emine
Women should be able to do anything without being judged for being a woman. They should be able to walk at night without being scared.
Chris
Women, especially younger women, should have more positive influencers to look up to. By no means I’m implying that one person is more respected than another; however, I believe the emphasis should be placed on women that are disobeying societal norms and therefore sparking revolution for all women. It’s important for EVERYONE to have positive role models such as women in science or in a field mostly male-dominated.
Marie
People should change. If society’s view does not change, buying a flower for a woman has no meaning.
Rana
Women in the arts should be the artist rather than muse, inspiration or a model. Artworks that women have not written, directed, painted, created don’t tell our stories and most of the time ignore them. Women portraying their lives in artworks shows their free position in life.
Nur
Personally, I think that gender equality should be strived for in an equal approach with the aim of obtaining a living standard that’s in a state of equilibrium. I don’t think that can ever be achieved by radically taking either side. Instead, it should be fostered through communication, vested interest, and mutual understanding.
Rylan
There should be equality between men and women, women shouldn’t be murdered, the oppressive patriarchal ideology should change.
Öykü
Society’s perseption of women should change. Behind violence against and oppression of women, there are sexist mentalities that we sometimes don’t even realize since they have become a part of our lives. Equality can’t be achieved before these degrading, sexist mentalities are destroyed.
İman
I think some things should change for all. Women and men should be equal.
Yula
People’s perception of feminism should change. People think feminism is promoting hostility against men or an ideology that suggests a system dominated by women, while it actually supports equality for all. For belittling behavior against feminists to change, people should learn about feminism.
Eda
Women should be celebrated every day! Women undergo excruciating pain, violence, and abuse. So women’s empowerment should be an everyday thing.
Nikiwe
I think one of the biggest problems is that people think feminism suggests that women are superior to men and turn this into a laughing matter. When someone makes a comment about women and criticize men, especially men start to mock this person with ungrounded determinations: “typical feminist, short hair, vegetarian”. Mocking a matter like this makes it lose its importance.
Halit
I think that people should promote more respect but I think that first of all, what should change is the fact that we, as women, are all united and we need to help each other, stay strong and together! Understand that we are capable and that the first step to equality is unity and companionship.
Julia
Restricting and oppressive ideologies of society should change because a feminist movement is not possible without an intellectual base.
Yaren
The way women are perceived and treated in society, especially in countries where women’s rights aren’t as advanced as elsewhere. Violence against women has become such a normalized occurrence in media that whenever we hear about it, it doesn’t shock us anymore.
Sera
Stop punishing women for being a woman.
Mina
I want women to be able to go anywhere and wear anything they want, to share their opinions without fear and not be degraded for being a woman. I want them to be proud of being a woman.
Yasemin
Women shouldn’t let themselves be victimized and pitied. They should work as hard as they can to be treated the same way with men, and break the stereotypes.
Defne
Don’t depend on others, depend on yourself. Don’t tell people things they want to hear, speak your mind.
Tarkan
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Special thanks to Nur Güzeldere and Duru Erdoğan for the cover photo.