On 7 September 2022, Soroptimist International (SI) of Türkiye, launched the project “EASILY: A Colorful Legal Literacy Program for Women” in Mersin. The project is receiving funding from the European Union and Council of Europe joint action “Fostering women’s access to justice in Turkey”.
The EASILY project aims to promote legal literacy among women, including those with limited opportunities and disadvantageous backgrounds in many provinces in Türkiye and to encourage them to benefit from their rights and services in Türkiye. It focuses on three main themes: (1) women's rights and gender-based violence, (2) women's economic and social rights, and (3) family law.
Representatives and volunteers of SI of Türkiye from Adana, Ankara, Eskişehir, Hatay, Istanbul and Mersin, as well as municipalities, muhktars, bar associations, local civil society organisations, attended the launching event. The president of SI of Türkiye, Ms Sevil Koca, expressed her gratitute to the EU and the CoE for the grant provided to support their project and stated that “EASILY, is a colourful legal literacy project, aims to serving to build a fair, enlightened and cohesive society where women enjoy equal opportunities and participation.”
The project coordinator for the EASILY project, Gül Üstün, also noted that, “This project will be of great importance in both cooperating with different non-governmental organisations and amplifying the voice of women we hear during our work in the field.”
Following the launch, two training sessions were held on 8 September 2022 in Adana with the participation of 44 women with disadvantaged backgrounds. During the training, participating women were informed about human rights, gender equality, civil rights, gender-based violence, divorce and alimony as well as about the available support services, including legal aid. These training sessions aiming to increase women’s legal literacy and empowerment will continue in Ankara, Bursa, Denizli, Hatay, Istanbul, Izmir, Mersin and Zonguldak and will aim to reach up to 450 women, especially targeting those women from disadvantaged groups.
The EASILY project is implemented under the NGO grant awarded to the SI of Türkiye, with the financial support of the European Union and the Council of Europe through the Action on “Fostering women’s access to justice in Turkey”, implemented under the European Union and Council of Europe’s joint “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”.
