The “Women in the Middle East” panel organized by Kastamonu University Middle East Studies Application and Research Center (ORDAM) was held on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, at the Central Library Cemil Meriç Hall.
Assoc made the opening speech of the panel. Prof. Alaattin Dolu, Director of the Middle East Studies Application and Research Center and Faculty Member of Humanities and Social Sciences. In his opening speech, he touched upon the place of women in social life and the difficulties they face in the Middle East. He emphasized that such academic events contribute to discussing the subject with different dimensions.
Assoc chaired the panel. Prof. Dr. Omca Altın, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, while Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sevda Özkaya Sofu, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, in her presentation titled “Turkish Women's Modernization Adventure and Its Reflections on the Middle East,” discussed the transformation of Turkish women in education, politics, and social life from the Ottoman period to the present day and evaluated the effects of these changes on women's movements in the Middle East.
Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences Dr. Assist. Prof. Dr. Murat Yılmaz, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, in his speech titled “Women in Ottoman Humor Magazines,” presented a historical reading through archival studies on the representation of women in the Ottoman press and female figures in humor magazines.
In the event organized in cooperation with the Middle Eastern Studies Student Community, the participants had the opportunity to discuss women's social, cultural, and political roles in the Middle East from different perspectives. The event, which attracted the attention of academics and students, provided an academic perspective on women's rights and social changes.
