Prof. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan: "We must stop asking for positive discrimination for women"

The third symposium titled "Media and Women" was held, which was organized in cooperation with Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication, Department of Journalism, Human-Centered Communication and Application Center (ILER) and Journalism Club. In the symposium held with the participation of important names in the field, the position of women in social life and the perspectives of women in the media sector were discussed in detail, and Prof. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan said that "We have to stop asking for positive discrimination for women."

The symposium was held in two sessions at the South Campus Fuat Sezgin Conference Hall. The event was moderated by Head of the Department of Journalism Assoc. Prof. Gül Esra Atalay and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Communication. Assoc. Prof. Bahar Muratoğlu Pehlivan.

In the first session of the event, Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication Asst. Prof. Prof. Ceren Saran Doğan, TRT Sports reporter Şeyda Şenürek and Hatay Mustafa Kemal University Faculty of Communication faculty member Assoc. Prof. Nil Çokluk participated as speakers.

Assoc. Prof. Gül Esra Atalay: "March 8 is shown as the day to buy diamonds, flowers or kitchen appliances"

Delivering the opening speech of the event, Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication Journalism Department Head Assoc. Prof. Gül Esra Atalay emphasized that the media went beyond the purpose of evaluating the status of women by making negative evaluations towards women. Atalay expressed that "The media is an important structure that determines and shapes the position of women in society; however, it also serves to constantly reproduce the negative judgments produced by the media against women. Thus, its responsible aspects actually seem to be more than its contributions. March 8 is actually experienced like a celebration, of course, this is something brought about by the capitalist system, but it tends to be shown as the day to buy diamonds, flowers or kitchen appliances for women. Actually, March 8 is a day of struggle. It is necessary to be aware of this on a day when women celebrate their struggles and achievements for years. It is necessary to remember the combative side that comes from that historical perspective, not the aspect within the capitalist system."

Asst. Prof. Ceren Saran Doğan: "The struggle for women's rights begins in an unequal way"

Talking about the historical process in the development of the women's rights struggle and the media, Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication, Department of Radio, Television and Cinema Assist. Prof. Ceren Saran Doğan stated that "The history of the struggle for women's rights dates back to the 1840s. These are the times when contemporary capitalism develops and modern societies are formed. There are fundamental rights in the demands of the women's rights struggle at that time. They demand rights such as equality of education, the right to own property, the right to participate in political life, equal citizenship, and the freedoms of marriage and divorce, including constitutional rights arising from the fact that people are human beings. In the 1840s, when the class struggle began in America, the struggle for women's rights began in an unequal way in this period when there were various actions and revolutions in Europe, and the working class and the bourgeoisie were positioned by comparing the classes. In the late 1800s, when journalism was formed, when women journalists entered the general world stage, the standard news form as we know it today was formed, and women were employed there to create relevant news and columns on topics of interest to women, such as fashion, domestic issues, decoration, furniture, home economics, kitchen management.".

Şeyda Şenürek: "I am the only female reporter working at TRT Spor İstanbul"

Pointing out that female reporters have increased with the development of digital media and talking about her career journey in sports journalism, TRT Sports reporter Şeyda Şenürek expressed "In 2012, I decided to progress in the field of sports when I entered the Faculty of Communication. From a young age, I was interested in every branch of sports. At that time, I was getting a lot of backlashes from my environment because there were not as many women in the sports media as there are today. I did a volunteer internship during my freshman year of college. My career journey started in radio, far away from sports. I worked at TRT Harbiye radio for eight months, where I worked as a program coordinator. The point where I got ahead of my classmates was that I started my internship very early. I was in the second year of university when I switched to TRT sports, and after my eight-month adventure, I started to work as an intern at TRT sports. The field I have always wanted to progress has always been the field; therefore, I have always dreamed of being intertwined with the atmosphere where there are athletes, reflecting their excitement and post-match adrenaline on the field, and being with the coaches and head coaches. I am currently the only female reporter working in TRT Spor İstanbul service. In the past, our presence seemed strange because there were not many female reporters in the field, but now that I have a lot of female reporter friends in digital media, we help each other a lot in supporting each other."

The second session of the March 8 Media and Women Symposium was moderated by Vice Dean of the Faculty of Communication Assoc. Prof. Bahar Muratoğlu Pehlivan.

In the second session, Üsküdar University Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean and Advisor to the Rector Prof. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan and Author and Editor Sibel Öz expressed their views.

Assoc. Prof. Bahar Muratoğlu Pehlivan: "March 8 is the symbol of our struggle for rights"

Delivering the opening speech of the second session of the symposium, Assoc. Prof. Bahar Muratoğlu Pehlivan underlined that March 8 was a legal struggle. Pehlivan stated that "March 8 is important for us because it is a symbol of the struggle for rights. This struggle is considered as an important day to make more aware of the difficulties we face in all areas of life, both in business and social life, in the inequalities experienced by women at home, and to seek rights. We are here today because we aim to contribute more to the fight against inequality.”

Prof. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan: "As women, we are very resilient beings"

Drawing attention to the fact that March 8 is very important from a social point of view and the problem of abuse faced by women in the academic world, Prof. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan stated that "I attach great importance to the celebration of March 8, International Women's Day to raise awareness. The academia has its own challenges. There is a big problem of abuse that women face. There is also a career journey that walks with the pressures created by male academics on women. As women, we are very resilient beings. There have been women around me who have turned this career journey into an advantage, and I think they are the people who have done the most damage to the women's movement, that is, toxic individuals who are just as harmful as abusive men."

"We must stop asking for positive discrimination for women"

Underlining that women are strong and free when women face difficulties in social life, Prof. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan stated that "We have to stop asking for positive discrimination for women because that is one of the main problems. We need to stop the hidden positive discrimination for men. Men are already positively discriminated against in all matters. Women are constantly expected to be better and more numerous in everything than men. That's why we have to be in a constant state of proof. The bumpier the road and the more difficult it is, the higher your training ability and endurance rate. I think every woman sitting here in front of us is very lucky. It is very privileged to be able to study here and participate in these conversations. Every time a women's issue comes to the fore, we are offered opportunities to work comfortably in the field of women's rights, that is, every woman can work in the field of women's rights. A great deal of freedom has been offered for women."

Sibel Öz Arslan: "It is promising to meet inspiring figures"

Talking about the position of women in the world of literature, Author and Editor Sibel Öz Arslan stated that "Being a woman in publishing, even though the literary world is a field where women are mostly involved, it makes me think to see that the number of women decreases as the ranks go up. This situation points to the difficulties in promotion in the sector and the obstacles to women's promotion to managerial positions. However, it is a promising development to encounter inspiring figures such as some of the female editors-in-chief we have met recently. It is possible to say that women writers have an important presence in the literary scene. However, understanding and assessing the underlying conditions of this presence can help us understand women's writing processes and their impact on the works they write. Virginia Woolf's concept of a 'room of their own' emphasizes the importance of an independent space for women writers to pursue their creativity. This is a basic requirement that must be met for women to improve their writing processes and works."

 

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)