Fatima's Hand Kristina Wilfore

In Season 4 of Fatima’s Hand, hear Esra Özsüer talk about the need for leadership in the midst of crisis and how her own journey to help Syrian refugee children unfolded, moving from businesswoman to philanthropist and NGO leader.

In the second episode of our Turkey series, we dig deeper into what bringing a gender perspective to politics means with Gülseren Onanç, the founder of the Equality, Justice and Women Platform in Turkey. Gülseren draws on her diverse experience as a businesswoman, politician, nonprofit leader – as well as a young basketball player where she first fought for equality – in a discussion about the formation of an independent feminist movement that works towards social change and the pursuit of a universal women’s rights agenda. In this free ranging conversation, Gülseren talks about why a woman’s touch is needed in politics, the role of violence against women, and how victimization can lead to empowerment. Gülseren talks openly about the influences in her life and exposure to people and places that have shaped her perspective, and the ways she is shaping a feminist conversation with women of diverse background and ages in Turkey.

The first episode of our Turkey series focuses on women’s rights in a male dominated culture with lessons learned from Fatma Çiğdem Aydın, an architect of the modern women’s movement. Çiğdem has shaped a multitude of initiatives for gender equality to help women pushback against discriminatory cultural expectations and gain more power in politics. As someone not afraid to speak her mind, she has encouraged women to stand up for their rights and be “a little naughty” in order to get things done.

It’s not enough to simply recognize sexism exists in society. In order to call out sexism and create the conditions for equality we must move people into action. In the second episode of our Ukraine series, Iryna Slavinska shares background on the practical steps she is taking as a coordinator of a campaign to combat sexism in media and politics in Ukraine. Her experience as a journalist gives her unique insights about how to create reforms within media to address patterns of sexism that perpetuate negative steretoypes about women in Ukraine.

Progress towards women's empowerment and gender equality in Ukraine is one of the most exciting changes taking place since the revolution in 2014. In this episode of Fatima's Hand, we talk with Olena Yena, one of the architects of the strategy guiding these transformations by creating the conditions for equal partnerships in governmental and societal reform. Episode 5 of Fatima's Hand holds many lessons for other countries where women are waking up to the reality that they don't have as much power as they thought, but are willing to fight to change things - in themselves, their culture and their country.

Marija Markovic is a strong, outspoken and deeply empathetic advocate who embraces this role as rigorously as that of wife and mother. In this episode of Fatima’s Hand, she brings 20 years of wisdom in democracy and governance in the context of democratic transitions to the conversation. Starting from the Balkans, Marija talks about her leadership in the student movement that played a critical role in mobilizing voters in the historical 2000 election in which Slobodan Milosevic was defeated at the polls – through massive street demonstrations against his bid to prolong a 13-year dictatorship. Hear about how Marija took this experience and applied it to work across Africa and the Middle East