Impakter
  • FINANCE
    • ESG News
    • Sustainable Finance
    • Business
  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Green Tech
  • Environment
    • Biodiversity
    • Climate Change
    • Circular Economy
    • Energy
  • Industry News
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
  • Editorial Series
    • SDGs Series
    • Shape Your Future
    • Sustainable Cities
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
  • About us
    • Company
    • Team
    • Global Leaders
    • Partners
    • Write for Impakter
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
  • FINANCE
    • ESG News
    • Sustainable Finance
    • Business
  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Green Tech
  • Environment
    • Biodiversity
    • Climate Change
    • Circular Economy
    • Energy
  • Industry News
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
  • Editorial Series
    • SDGs Series
    • Shape Your Future
    • Sustainable Cities
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
  • About us
    • Company
    • Team
    • Global Leaders
    • Partners
    • Write for Impakter
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
Impakter
No Result
View All Result
Home Equal Rights

Hand Over The Mic To: Aras Kocaoğlan, Turkey

byUN Women
December 9, 2020
in Equal Rights, Lifestyle, Society
Aras Kocaoğlan. Photo courtesy of Aras Kocaoğlan
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


For the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, we are handing over the mic to women and men on the front line, those who are battling COVID-19 and the pandemic of violence against women and girls that’s relentless and rising. These are the voices of survivors, essential workers, and leaders, telling us what’s urgent, and how we can stop the escalating violence, recover and rebuild from COVID-19.

More information about the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence can be found here.

Aras Kocaoğlan: Social media advocate, everyday change-maker

“There is a frequently used Turkish proverb: ‘if you don’t beat your daughter, you beat your knee.’

If we keep telling women and girls through everyday expressions that they are not equal to men and boys, or that violence against them is justified, then it helps normalize that violence.

Turkish Dictionary is an Instagram account that translates Turkish proverbs, idioms and expressions into English to show how sophisticated the Turkish language is and to also share them with the rest of the world. I believe that society shapes language and language shapes society. We try to identify sexist use of the language and offer alternatives. We make people question things that they haven’t before. Even if we can’t change their minds with a single post, we can make them think about it.

Together with UN Women, we focus on phrases and expressions that are gendered, sexist and discriminatory against women and girls. In our social media posts, we offer alternative expressions that help create a more gender-equal vision of the society. For instance, we use “businessperson” instead of “businessman”, or “humanity” instead of “mankind”. Our first collaboration post had at that time the highest interaction compared with any other posts. Whenever we collaborate, we check the comments, look at how people perceive these posts, and the discussions they start. We have also inspired private sector companies to create similar campaigns on social media.

Discrimination or inequality are not concepts that we are born with. We are not born with an inherent hate of a gender or race. We learn these prejudices and using language we pass them on using language. We need to change discriminatory language. That’s why, together with UN Women, we try to change discriminatory language so that we can make a change in our society and create an equal and fairer future free from violence.”

UN Women Works to Change Social Norms and Prevent Violence Against Women with Programmes and Campaigns on the Ground

Aras Kocaoğlan is a marketing manager and the founder of the Instagram account, Turkish Dictionary, that reaches around 400,000 Turkish and international followers. Alongside UN Women, Kocaoğlan sparks conversations on social media about commonly used Turkish proverbs and expressions that discriminate against women and girls. During the COVID-19 lockdowns in May 2020, he started a campaign to raise awareness of Instagrammers about gender equality and COVID-19 and confront gendered language. The collaboration between UN Women and Turkish Dictionary reached around 2 million people on Instagram. Turkish Dictionary also disseminated content about the disproportional and unique impacts of COVID-19 on women and girls.


Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists are their own, not those of Impakter.com. — In the Featured Photo: Aras Kocaoğlan Featured Photo Credit: Aras Kocaoğlan/UN Women

 

 

Tags: 16DaysorangetheworldToxic MasculinityTurkeyunwomen
Previous Post

How Partnerships Can Turbo Charge Progress on the SDGs

Next Post

COVID-19 Vaccines: Bridging Religious Divides, Engaging Religious Support 

UN Women

UN Women

UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality, and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented and truly benefit women and girls worldwide. It works globally to make the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for women and girls and stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life.

Related Posts

climate disinformation
Environment

Climate Disinformation Is Derailing Action: What Can Be Done?

July 7, 2025
youth political participation
Society

Redefining Participation: The Politics of a New Generation

July 4, 2025
wildfire pollution water
Environment

Pollution From Wildfires Can Contaminate Our Water for up to 8 Years, Study Finds

July 3, 2025
Next Post
COVID-19 Vaccines: Bridging Religious Divides, Engaging Religious Support 

COVID-19 Vaccines: Bridging Religious Divides, Engaging Religious Support 

Recent News

Scientific Data and Computing Center

What Is the Environmental Cost of Generative AI?

July 11, 2025
Italy Opens a Probe Into Revolut’s Allegedly Unfair Practices

Italy Opens a Probe Into Revolut’s Allegedly Unfair Practices

July 11, 2025
Texas floods

The Science Behind Texas’ Catastrophic Floods

July 10, 2025

Impakter informs you through the ESG news site and empowers your business CSRD compliance and ESG compliance with its Klimado SaaS ESG assessment tool marketplace that can be found on: www.klimado.com

Registered Office Address

Klimado GmbH
Niddastrasse 63,

60329, Frankfurt am Main, Germany


IMPAKTER is a Klimado GmbH website

Impakter is a publication that is identified by the following International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is the following 2515-9569 (Printed) and 2515-9577 (online – Website).


Office Hours - Monday to Friday

9.30am - 5.00pm CEST


Email

stories [at] impakter.com

By Audience

  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & MACHINE LEARNING
    • Green Tech
  • ENVIRONMENT
    • Biodiversity
    • Energy
    • Circular Economy
    • Climate Change
  • INDUSTRY NEWS
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
    • Editorial Series

ESG/Finance Daily

  • ESG News
  • Sustainable Finance
  • Business

Klimado Platform

  • Klimado ESG Tool
  • Impakter News

About Us

  • Team
  • Global Leaders
  • Partners
  • Write for Impakter
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

© 2025 IMPAKTER. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • FINANCE
    • ESG News
    • Sustainable Finance
    • Business
  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Green Tech
  • Environment
    • Biodiversity
    • Climate Change
    • Circular Economy
    • Energy
  • Industry News
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
  • Editorial Series
    • SDGs Series
    • Shape Your Future
    • Sustainable Cities
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
  • About us
    • Company
    • Team
    • Global Leaders
    • Partners
    • Write for Impakter
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy

© 2024 IMPAKTER. All rights reserved.