The talk titled “Differences, Discrimination and Gender Equality” was held in J Block 303. The main theme of the talk, which was attended by lawyer Ayşe Dilek Ergüler, consisted of keywords such as differences, discrimination, gender equality and related international conventions.
In the first part of the talk, Lawyer Ayşe Dilek Ergüler said, “Each of you is different and unique from each other, and you should be aware of this situation. The differences we will examine are race, language, religion, nationality, age, education, culture, sexual orientation, sect, ethnic origin, language, political opinion and philosophical thought. Discrimination is the prejudiced approach to a person or group because of their differences. This approach and prejudice can be positive or negative.”
In this section, it was emphasized what the scope of differences and discrimination are and how we encounter them in daily life. Ergüler said, “Discrimination is a violation of human rights. In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted. This declaration emerged to protect the rights of individuals against the state. Over time, it has been developed to protect rights not only against the state but also against the individual” and drew attention to universal values.
Ergüler continued his emphasis on human rights by saying “The rights of children and people with disabilities are also guaranteed by international conventions”.
During the interview, Ergüler showed a video projecting the letter of a mother with a disabled child in Heydar Aliyev Park to show the problems faced by people with disabilities and their families and to build empathy. The video, which ends with the slogan “A smile is enough to beautify our world”, tried to convey the message that smiling at people with disabilities by looking them in the eye, rather than bowing our heads and passing by, will make them happy and bring them into society.
Later in the interview, Ergüler, in order to draw attention to the perception of gender in society, said: “We are all born as boys or girls, but our family and society show us how to be men and women. This learning starts in the family and continues in the neighborhood, school and work life.” Ergüler pointed out that society imposes roles on us from the moment we are born, and emphasized the need to go beyond these perceptions.
In the interview, a puzzle was asked to increase the interaction of the audience and then answers were received and conversations on gender equality were held. The impact of cultural codes and learning on the answers were compared. In addition, students participated in the process by adding other factors.
In the last part of the interview, an animated film on Gender Equality in Employment was watched. In the content of the animated movie, the responsibilities socially imposed on women were explained and employment rates were conveyed to the audience. After taking a souvenir photo, the conversation was concluded.
