An event titled "Leaders of the Future" was organized in cooperation with the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of National Education and Üsküdar University, within the scope of ‘December 5th, Granting of Suffrage to Turkish Women’. Halide İncekara, Rector Advisor of Üsküdar University, emphasized the crucial importance of women's participation in life, stating; "Youth and children are our present." İncekara stressed that youth and children who do not feel safe today will have no future tomorrow.
The event, held at the Ibn Sina Auditorium of Üsküdar University NP Health Campus, was attended by prominent figures from the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of National Education and numerous high school students affiliated with the Istanbul Student Council.
Ayşe Nur Çalıcı: "We Had Very Successful Programs with Üsküdar Last Year Too"
Ayşe Nur Çalıcı, Branch Manager of the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of National Education; "The Istanbul Student Councils project continues with great momentum. Under the leadership of our esteemed lecturer Halide, we organized very successful programs with Üsküdar University last year as well. We wanted the valuable students of this year's student council to also benefit from our lecturer Halide. It is truly an honor for us to witness the new perspectives she will open in your lives." she said.
Halide İncekara: "Women's Participation in Life is Not a Favor from Anyone to Anyone"
Halide İncekara, Rector Advisor of Üsküdar University, made evaluations about the role of women in society. İncekara said; "If you think from the perspective of women, take Halide İncekara, divide her in half. The right side has no limbs. No two right ears, no two right arms, no two right feet. How I look, how I walk, how I move; for the opposite sex, for human beings created as a pair, when you remove women from society, you become like Halide İncekara's half body. Sometimes men think their space will shrink when women enter their lives. It's not true. You become half of your limbs. You cannot walk, you limp. You cannot hold with one hand. You cannot hear with half an ear. Therefore, women's participation in politics, active life, social life, and business life is not a favor from anyone to anyone. It is not a compliment. This is a requirement for growing and strengthening together."
"You Are Our Present"
İncekara pointed out that youth and children who are not made to feel safe today will have no future tomorrow; "In all speeches, they tell you about the future, right? Everyone has a future in mind. They say, 'Youth are our future.' Why are you not their present? If you are not their present, you cannot be their future anyway. Every difficulty that arises in your life tomorrow is because it was ignored today. Your future is our future... Youth is our present. Children are our present. What I don't see today, what I don't make happy today, what I don't make feel safe today, indeed has no future tomorrow. You are our present." she stated.
"My Mother Had a Role Model..."
İncekara mentioned that there are many people who can be taken as role models today; "Why is my name Halide? Because when my mother was rocking me in her arms, saying, 'May my daughter grow up to be like Halide Edip, giving public rallies,' in 1959, the villagers laughed at my mother. They said, 'What are you saying, madam? Aren't you aware that the child you're rocking is a girl?' My mother replied, 'That's why I'm praying for her to hold public rallies like Halide Edip.' My mother had a role model. In places where there was no television, and perhaps no radio reached, there was a role model: Halide Edip. She took her as her role model. But now, you have many older sisters, aunts, and sisters-in-law – whatever you call them – in academia, in the press, everywhere, whom you can take as role models." she said.
"She Speaks to Give You Hope, to Be Hope..."
İncekara, speaking about her own life to the participants; "Why is Halide İncekara speaking? She is speaking to give you hope, to be hope. So that you don't say, 'Who will make me a deputy, who will make me a minister?' That's why Halide İncekara is explaining. Because within all the services and work Halide İncekara has done, those 'must-have' things you mention are not present. I am not the daughter of a very wealthy family. I am the daughter born 10 years later to a mother who migrated from a village to the city at a young age, and came to Istanbul after getting married. I am the daughter of parents who learned to read and write externally, and who received their diplomas after the age of 40. My high school life was in regular schools, not in any private schools or colleges. But I am successful, I work hard. Like you, I started my civic life during high school. Whatever problem I saw in my class, my school, my neighborhood, my apartment building, I got involved as much as I could." she said.
"Learn to Live with Your Child"
İncekara underlined that it is very important for women to learn to live with their children in business life instead of worrying about them; "Politics was not easy for me at that time at all. First of all, politics is very time-consuming. It takes your time, your heart, your soul... Of course, if you do it properly. I was among those who tried to do it properly, and it took a lot of my time. My husband always faced these words; 'Ahmet, are you cooking at home? Ahmet, are the irons left to you? Ahmet, you can only see your wife on screens...' It was true, indeed my husband only saw me on screens because international conferences, meetings, PACE, the Council of Europe, the Commission on Children's Rights – all of these had international meeting legs, not just in Turkey, and I was attending them. In the morning, I would arrive at the airport, hand over my old luggage to my husband, take my new luggage, and had to fly to another country for another work or to another city. That's why you need a strong spouse, a strong family, an income that won't make you dependent on anyone, and of course, a place to leave your child. When it comes to children, some people make their children their own burden. A doctor friend of mine used to say; 'A child won't die if they don't eat for 40 days. A child will grow up even if you don't look after them.' This is a joke, it's not about caring. But don't make your child a burden or an obstacle for yourself, learn to live with your child." she stated.
Mert Kapıcıoğlu: "Most Importantly, We Are Shaping Our Own Future"
Student Council President Mert Kapıcıoğlu, speaking about the "Leaders of the Future" project; "In the 102nd year of our Republic, we are hosting a very meaningful program within the scope of the 'Leaders of the Future' project. Student councils operating in our 39 districts in Istanbul have been offering the most beautiful school of democracy to young people in recent years. Here, we vote, propose solutions to problems, and most importantly, shape our own future. And today, we are doing exactly that; we are talking about the future. The future, as we define it, can only be built by men and women working shoulder to shoulder. The granting of suffrage to Turkish women in 1934 is one of the greatest revolutions of our Republic. Today, very close to the anniversary of that revolution, I once again commemorate Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his comrades-in-arms with gratitude and thankfulness, who bestowed this right upon us." he said.
The interview program continued with answering questions from high school students.
The organized program concluded with the presentation of gifts and a group photo session.