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International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
Today is 25 November. International day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. A recent statistic says that in Turkey 42% of women are targeted by some kind of violence. Whether physical, sexual, economical and so on. Please help us to spread the word about the scholarships provided by Women’s Self Defense Initiative. Please don’t [...]
Empowering Woman Through Martial Arts
An intelligent discipline community initiative
For decades, Turkish women have had the right to vote, access to education, the right to divorce. Turks even elected a female prime minister in 1993. But there is still a long ways to go. A recent report by Amnesty International estimated that a third of Turkish women are victims of domestic violence. One prominent Turkish Islamic scholar recently advised women to study the martial arts: “I wish women would take karate, taekwondo or judo courses,” he said. “If he hits once, she should hit him twice.” We agree with his sentiment — we believe that a woman properly trained in the martial arts will be better equipped to deter violence and defuse conflict even before it comes to this stage. But we are not sure that he meant this sincerely. After all, what opportunities exist in Turkey for women to learn a martial art, and what happens to them when they try?
