Women for Women’s Human Rights (WWHR) is an autonomous women’s non-government organization (NGO) founded in 1993 in Turkey. The group aims to promote women’s human rights and to supports the active and broad participation of women in the establishment and maintenance of a respectful democratic order at national, regional and international levels. WWHR has developed a multi-pronged approach in its programming, seeking to eliminate discrimination against women and women's human rights violations. The NGO's national and international programs combine action-research, training, production and dissemination of awareness-raising materials and publications, advocacy, lobbying and networking. WWHR was elected as one of the few NGOs worldwide to deliver a statement at the United Nations March 8 Global World Conference in 1998, in recognition of its advocacy and lobbying efforts towards the adoption of a protection order law against domestic violence in Turkey. WWHR was also awarded the 1999 Leading Solutions Award by the Association for Women in Development (AWID), in recognition of its contributions to advancing gender equality and social justice. Its Human Rights Education Program for Women (HREP) has been elected as one of the “best tactics in human rights” in an international program by the Centre for Victims of Torture and Helsinki Citizens Assembly. In 2007, co-founder of WWHR - New Ways was awarded the Gruber Prize for Women’s Rights for her work with WWHR-New Ways and the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR).
On the national level, WWHR-New Ways has been implementing the Human Rights Education Program for Women (HREP), which remains the most widespread and comprehensive human rights education program in Turkey. The Program, which has been implemented in the field on an ongoing basis since 1995, is on its fourteenth year. As a result of its uninterrupted implementation, HREP has nationwide outreach through the community centers located in 28 provinces spread throughout all seven geographic regions of Turkey, and up-to-date over 4000 women have been reached by the program.
The HREP aims to raise women’s awareness of their rights and equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills towards their realization. An equally important aim of the HREP is to serve as a catalyst in the mobilization of women’s local grassroots organizing; and as such to support the struggle for women’s human rights not only on an individual but also on an organized collective basis.
WWHR-New Ways has also been actively involved in advocacy and lobbying efforts on the national level since its foundation. We have initiated and coordinated a number of national campaigns, including the Campaign against Virginity testing in 1997, the Campaign for the Protection Order in 1997–1998, the Campaign for the Reform of the Civil Code in 2000-2001, the Campaign for the ratification of the Optional Protocol to CEDAW by Turkey in 2001, and the Campaign for the Reform of the Penal Code from a Gender Perspective in 2002. We coordinated the Penal Code Reform campaign for almost three years, and as a result of our work, there have been significant changes made to the penal code including classifying of sexual crimes under “crimes against persons” instead of “crimes against society”; criminalizing marital rape; amending the unjust provocation article to prevent honor killing perpetrators to receive sentence reductions, abolishing discrimination between married and single or virgin and not virgin women; amending the definitions of rape, sexual harassment and sexual assault.
On the international level, since 2000, WWHR- New Ways has concentrated its international advocacy and lobbying efforts on the promotion of women’s sexual and bodily rights in Muslim societies. As a result of our work on the issue, the first regional network for promoting sexual and bodily rights as human rights has emerged in the Middle East and North Africa. Since 2001, we have organized regional meetings in Istanbul, Lebanon, Malta, and Tunis, provided trainings, participated in CPD and ICPD advocacy and lobbying efforts. Since 2004, this regional network expanded to include South/Southeast Asia and held a regional meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia at the end of September 2004. WWHR – New Ways has published the first comprehensive reader on the issue entitled Women and Sexuality in Muslim Societies which has been translated into Arabic and Turkish.
WWHR-New Ways also actively partakes in advocacy and lobbying efforts on the UN Level. WWHR-New Ways has submitted the first shadow report from Turkey in 1997, for the third periodic review of the Turkey Country Report by CEDAW. We also lobbied in the fourth and fifth combined periodic review of Turkey by CEDAW. In July 2004, we submitted a shadow report to CEDAW, endorsed by 26 NGOs from the Women’s Platform on the Turkish Penal Code and presented our report at the pre-session. In the second phase, a final shadow report was prepared and submitted to the CEDAW Committee during its January 2005 review session. Two members of WWHR-New Ways were present at the session as commentators and observers to the review process. WWHR - New Ways is also participating in the ICPD+10 process and has also served on the official delegation of Turkey in the Beijing+5 process, and has lobbied in particular for the necessity of preventive and protective measures against marital rape, forced and early marriages and “honour crimes” as forms of violence against women; women’s right to safe abortion; and the repeal of laws criminalizing homosexuality.