The We Feminists online campaign, run by Southern Azerbaijani women activists through a website as well as social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, highlights the challenges faced by women in Iranian Azerbaijan. It also brings attention to women active in various fields. In an interview with Voice of America, Türkmen Gamichi, one of the project’s contributors, explained the goals and activities of We Feminists.
“We aim to reflect the situation of women in Azerbaijan and bring attention to the initiatives they are involved in… For example, we introduce female artists and women activists in our modern history. We conduct interviews and highlight women’s achievements. We have not restricted our activities to any particular field,” explained the activist from Urmia.
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| Turkmen Gamichi |
Gamichi noted that these efforts have fostered dialogue among activists.
She also emphasized that since We Feminists operates in Turkish, it helps inform people in Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan about events in Southern Azerbaijan. She particularly highlighted the significant participation of women in the mass protests held last November.
Gamichi acknowledged some of the criticisms the campaign has faced:
“People show interest in liberal feminism, which advocates for equal rights for women in the public sphere. However, they are not as receptive to radical feminism, which demands equality in both public and private spheres,” she observed.
The Southern Azerbaijani activist also mentioned that due to the conservative nature of society, some topics cannot be openly discussed.
“For example, we wanted to gather opinions on virginity testing through our page… But it didn’t go well. Society is conservative, and we haven’t been able to bring up certain issues,” she stated.
She further noted that, given the campaign’s focus on the Turkish language and the limited number of collaborators, We Feminists currently concentrates on issues related specifically to Turkish women. However, she added that they would welcome the participation of non-Turkish Azerbaijani women as well.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Güneyli fəalların “Biz Feministlər” layihəsi