Canan Güllü receives International Women of Courage Award

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Federation of Women Associations of Turkey (TKDF) Chair and women's rights defender Canan Güllü has been granted the International Women of Courage Award by the US Department of State for her efforts to introduce the Domestic Violence Emergency Hotline in Turkey.

As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), The US on Monday marked International Women's Day by honoring women from 15 countries for exemplifying courage, including Turkey's Canan Güllü.

'Women lead the change'

Speaking during the online ceremony, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the women honored by the US "have endured violence, death threats, imprisonment and police harassment, because of their work."

"They deserve our support and recognition," he said during a State Department ceremony, adding, "They remind us of something we should never forget: that it is often women who lead the change for human rights, democracy and justice, including in places where women hold much less than half of the political, economic and social power."

David Satterfield, the US envoy to Turkey, also hailed Canan Güllü as a leading women's rights activist, indicating that "she reminds all women of Turkey that they are not alone."

"Her concrete actions support her kind-hearted words," he said. "Thank you, Ms. Gullu for exemplifying exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for human rights, women's equality and social progress."

Award granted to 14 women

During the ceremony, Jill Biden, the spouse of US President Joe Biden, spoke about the common struggles of the awardees.

"Your fight is our fight. And your courage causes us to come together again, and again, and again," Biden said.

In addition to Turkey's Güllü, the US Department of State has granted this year's award to 14 women from various countries including Venezuela, Guatemala, Congo, Belarsu, Iran, Myanmar and China.

In addition, seven Afghan women were given an honorary award after being assassinated in the country while working in their communities.

About Canan Güllü

The US State Department has shared the following information about women's rights defender and TKDF Chair Güllü:

"Canan Gullu has been an activist and organizer for 31 years and is the president of the Turkish Federation of Women's Associations (TKDF), an umbrella organization of women's NGOs; she leads186 branches and 52,500 members. Canan has been a steadfast champion of gender equality, working to promote women's participation in governance, labor force, and education.

"In 2007, the TKDF established the first emergency hotline for victims of violence in Turkey, which continues its operations. Over the past two years, Canan launched an education and advocacy campaign focused on failures in the Turkish government's implementation since 2012 of the Istanbul Convention, the Council of Europe's Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

"Canan's activism has been critical to educating the public about the convention and reinforcing the need to combat gender-based violence, which quelled some politicians' calls for Turkey's withdrawal." (SO/SD)