Tucked away in a backstreet of Istanbul's sleepless Beyoğlu district, where even at night the population reaches two million, Turkey’s first feminist bookstore opened 10 days ago to welcome curious readers

ONUR BURÇAK BELLİ
ISTANBUL – Turkish Daily News


Turkey's first feminist bookstore, established by the Amargi Woman Academy, a women's organization founded in 2001 to develop feminist theory and practice, acts as a meeting point for Amargi and readers who follow feminist literature.

While some people were standing in front of the second-hand bookshelves that are literally filled with books and magazines that look brand new, as well old ones, others chose to sip tea or coffee and read in silence.

In a room at the back of the bookstore, Pınar Selek, a sociologist and the editor of Amargi journal and her friends were busy unpacking the 2008 calendars that were soon to be put on sale.

"We need to earn money to keep this place open," Selek said with a smile of proud satisfaction on her face.

Amargi takes its name from a Sumerian word meaning freedom and "returning to mother." It aims to unite the experiences of women and academia and to develop feminist analysis and policies at the same time.

“We develop feminist thought and feminist policies through an analysis of current problems and through the organization of seminars and workshops, and by publishing books,” Selek said, emphasizing that Amargi has been active in politics as a cooperative for seven years. In addition to the quarterly Amargi journal that has been published for the past two years, the feminist bookstore is both the outcome and the driving force of the organization's efforts.

“Women were coming to us with essays in their hands, wanting them to be published or just wanting to discuss,” she said. “There were words to be said.”

“For seven years Amargi, both as a cooperative and as a journal, managed to survive without any funds or capital,” Selek said, adding that they opened the bookstore with no funds, either.

“Our readers and volunteers were pushing us, stating the need for such a place, but we did not have any money to realize it. When we said 'okay, let's try it,' we found ourselves painting the walls and cleaning the windows of this place,” she said. “It was a solidarity with our volunteers and supporters as well as the people of the neighborhood.”



Seminar plans

The Amargi bookstore prepares to bring readers, writers and researchers together in one place for the exchange of ideas. Some of the events planned for this month are two seminars on Virginia Woolf's “A room of one's own” and a meeting with poet and writer Neşe Yaşin from Cyprus, whose book “Secret history of sad girls” has been banned.

With many other plans and projects for the new year currently in the pipeline, the first feminist bookstore awaits readers, writers and anyone who believes in the need for feminist theory, and for anyone who needs it.

“Anybody can help us. There are books we are looking for and cannot find. They can send us the books or research they have made. Or at least they can make it a meeting point for their appointments. We will be happy to welcome anyone here,” Selek said, as she asked for confirmation from the customers and volunteers.

Everyone promised that they will welcome and help those who are interested in learning about feminist thought.

http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=92622

Hurra!!! Congratulations, Turkey!

...well, I think that there is a lot of litterature that can be counted into feminist literature, just search the internet and you will find loads - academic, poetry, lyrics, whatever.

I read mostly swedish litterature but one book that I would highly recommend is Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates. It is not a traditional feminist book but it taught me a lot about what it is to be a woman in a western country.

I once had a teacher that explained feminism as being a very broad field...so she used to say that when it comes to the lowest common denominator - a feminist is:
1. a person that sees the structures in the worlds societies that opress women
2. and wants to do something about it! .

...the majority of my class defined themselves as feminists after that...both men and women...

Libra, at our uni we actually have a whole course on feminist literature! . But I think the example they gave in the article is already a good one, Virginia Woolf's 'A Room of One's Own'. At the moment I can't think of any other examples.. :-S hehe

I can)))
George Sand,Virginia Woolf,sisters Bronte, Jane Ellen Harrison,Kate Millett,Mary MacLane,Rebecca Walker,Simone de Beauvoir,H.D. and many others)) not as significant as previous least but not last...
Not to mention Doris Lessing))))
And the access to the list of feminists in general...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_feminists

i know a big library which only have women books in Fener-İstanbul. its name is 'Women Works Library'.

here its link.

http://www.kadineserleri.org/

Ciko, where exactly is this store located in the Fener district? Thanks.

My preference and support is for "feminine" ladies.
Boooo to all feminists !
I can not care less if they have their own coffee shop or whatever, so long as they keep its doors closed...

BEst of luck to these ladies. I know how hard it is to offer a cultural service in this city. MAy they have many successes and manage to stay open a long time.

I am very open minded !
Tell me three good reasons why I should prefer and support feminist women over feminine ladies !

Notice the effective intervention by AlphaF, before the disease spreads any further?

Equality of men and women is total crap...
Women are definitely superior...Those women yukking about equality or their superiority all the time however, are not attractive..

Marion thinks again....

Why are some men so afraid of strong women???

men&women never enemies of each other,so why this -ism at the end of word????look likes to go on a fire with bellows

What?...Is there a Feminist meeting in Ankara?

You are talking to a man who has already said women are superior to men and that their fight for equality is stupid.

....and I pity the men who think feminine women are weak !
They have absolutely no clue !

Alpha F, tell me you are just kidding! :-S

I think you love strong feminist women!

I may, but not necessarily....

I honestly think that women who hit the streets screaming for equality with men are the retarded ones - not aware of their natural superiority and not smart enough to manage men around them, using this gift of nature.

If you stop using the words "women"and "feminist" as if they are the same, you will understand what I mean...

...you disappoint me, Alpha F...

I have very mixed feelings regarding current day "femminism". I feel real feminism has been lost in the march.

Women who want to do traditional female roles, such as: being homemakers are made fun of. Women who want to spend time with their children, instead of pursueing careers are looked down on. Children are raised by those who do it for profit, not deeper motives. What we have now are ready made meals that are not made for their nutritional value, but for the profit motive.

Something is wrong here IMHO. Just what does it mean to be a woman? I have no question as to the equality of males and females. I do think this is going terribly wrong now.

It is interesting to note, some of the most influential women in the 20th century were women who were opposed to femminism. They are: Gertrude Bell and Freya Stark

Edited to add another influential woman:

Role of La Malinche in the Conquest of Mexico

In the Lienzo de Tlaxcala (History of Tlaxcala), for example, not only is Cortés rarely portrayed without Malinche poised by his ear, but she is shown at times on her own, seemingly directing events as an independent authority. If she had been trained for court life, as in Díaz's account, her loyalty to Cortés may have been dictated by the familiar pattern of marriage among native elite classes. In the role of primary wife acquired through an alliance, her role would have been to assist her husband achieve his military and diplomatic objectives.

I am, of course, expecting massive flames....

Alameda, nice you bring up Tlaxcala.Old memories for me: Have a look at the historical murals:
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fei%3DUTF-8%26p%3DTlaxcala%2520murales%26fr2%3Dtab-web%26fr%3Dyfp-t-501&w=500&h=375&imgurl=static.flickr.com%2F91%2F232453983_86fbe2acbb_m.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fronandcatie%2F232453983%2F&size=156.9kB&name=232453983_86fbe2acbb.jpg&p=Tlaxcala+murales&type=jpeg&no=5&tt=40&oid=0a83d2db5f378f94&fusr=Catie+Thurber-Brown&tit=Tlaxcala_Murales_Palacio+Municipal_2&hurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fronandcatie%2F&ei=UTF-8&src=p
http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/exhibns/month/jan2003.html

I think the point being made is that it hasn't really balanced out in certain areas. We own 5 shops, my husband and I. Altough the businesses are owned 50/50, He does the more physical work in the shops, while I do the books etc at home. I prefer to be home keeping the house nice and looking after my son. So many people think I am being made to stay at home because my husband is Turkish. Or that I am not really 'meeting my potential' by working more at home. When actually, I feel I am. I shouldn't be made to feel like I'm 'copping out' because I chose to stay home. The point of having equal rights is so that we do have choices isn't it?

As far as women looking after the children more, I think some things society and laws cannot change. I believe men and women are built differently genetically. For example, men are generally stronger physically, women can be more nurturing and of course each sex has more qualities, I am just using these as examples. Since I gave birth to my son I have been grateful to be a woman. To have had the experience of pregnancy, and giving birth. Even feeding him from my own body! There is a bond there from these experiences that is amazing. And women naturally have the maternal instincts ( most of them anyway ). Men and women are different, and using these differences , such as women spending more time looking after child, or the man opening the lid of the jar of jam that is stuck on, are a natural good use of using the differences, I don't think it is necessarily being sexist.

Aslan, kafesteki kus and xkirstyx,

What the answer is, I don't know, but I'm looking.

I'm still going through the reevaluation of just what it means to be a "liberated" woman. I try to look at life and what it offers in a realistic and practical manner.

After all the purpose of working is to be able to afford to purchase what you need to live. We work to live, not live to work.

In living our lives we have an outer and an inner. Bread winning (to me) is part of the "outer", that has a fixed value. Making the bread is part of the inner. IOW someone has to care about the home and make it healthy for body and soul. That is something that is priceless.
Of course you can hire a nanny, cook and maid, but do they really care about your well being, or is it a for wages position for them? If your child spends hours with someone who only is interested in the wages, but spends hours with your child, what does that teach your child?

I've seen nannies with their charges during the day. The children, while not abused, are not really being cared for. They are pushed around in their strollers, sometimes parked while the nannies visit with their friends. The nanny leaves and they get another one. Many times the children learn the language and accent of the nanny before learning the parents language. I question the value of that situation. I want my children to learn my values and language, not those of someone else. I would want to see my child's first steps, hear their first words and be active in the development.

Preparation of healthy meals entails researching the nutritional values and food combination effects and using the best cooking methods (no microwave)so as to retain the food values. It isn't fast and easy. There are a lot of simple home remedies women used to use. Most have been forgotten. An example: a little bit of vinegar or baking soda in a glass of water is great for indigestion. Now we get antacids instead. An eyewash of tea is an excellent eyewash.

My grandmother had her own home based business. Her business was run in such a way that it didn't interfere with her family. I think what we now have is women being put into a mold that doesn't fit very well. Maybe it's time to take another look.

Certainly, every female should be educated, should be able to be self supporting, should know how to defend herself.

so true, Alameda! Excellent reply.

Thankyou

To debate whether or not men and women should be equal, let us strip the issue from superfuluous add-ons like politics, human rights, equal opportunity, morality, discrimination etc. and look at the issue in its basic form. Just man and woman.

Cavewoman gives his caveman a cavebaby. She is temporarily immobile for obvious reasons. Caveman goes out to hunt and collect wood for cavewoman and cavebaby. Sometimes he has to wander for miles.

After days of hunting and collecting wood, caveman is tired, bruised and spent out. On the way back, another cavewoman waves a friendly welcoming hand. She looks stunning and is obviously not immobile. Her cave looks very promising and eliminates a further 2-days walk.

The fact that many of us are around today is proof enough that many of the cavemen did not yield to such temptations and found his way back to his own cavewoman and his own cavebaby. He knew fully that he would not find a heated cave, ready food, a mobile cavewoman or a silent cavebaby.

What quality of his own cavewoman, do you think, drives our caveman to his own cave? What would happen if all cavemen stopped by the first new cavewoman beckoning him? Do you think the caveman would ever return to his home cave, if the waiting cavewoman there was a screaming feminist?

God bless the feminine women !

I already said...IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE!
You are forgiven..

PS: Sorry for blaming the Eraser for this undignified affair.

A stable of Feminist woman?...Is that the final offer?
Still, no !

There is no dreaming with feminist women....One always knows what is coming !

I'm not an expert on cavemen, although I can swear I meet quite a few. No, I'm not THAT old. Anyway, wasn't it all about procreation in the past? About conveying genetic material, making as many combinations as possible to ensure the existence of species? No religions telling cavemen that cavewomen should wear scarves and cavemen should be faithful to only one cavewoman. If I'm not mistaken, cavemen went hunting but wouldn't come back home (cave?) with a yummy chubby mammoth. Actually, it was a cavewoman's job to provide food for herself and her numerous children while cavemen were away. So, frankly speaking, cavewomen didn't neen a cavemen to provide food for her. She needed him to fertilize her. So, Alpha, with all due respect, I don't really think she cared whether he returned home or not, there always was another one passing by and owning potentially better genes...

You are wrong...

If you are familiar with horse ranches, you should know that champion mares are not in the habit of giving favors to all passing by stallions.

In fact new champions are never obtained by cross breeding champion mares with champion stallions.

What they do is they let the mare chose her own mate, not necessarily from amongst the champion stallions; she has the nose for it.

At breakfast tea a beloved asked her lover,
would you lend me over the sugar please?

What exactly do you need to be lectured on, Sera dear? ))))))))))))))) stallions ?

What would a gelding possibly know about stallions?????

Never mind Keith, Sera...He has nothing bigger than a peanut..

Only when white man talks with a forked tongue....

What are you talking about?

It is only natural, I go back to Cheyenne, when I am angry ))))))) It has nothing to do with ethnicity...

don't tarnish the honor of the american indian with your phoney affiliation....

Of course he does, but if rubbish is left to sit and rot for too long, the stench is overbearing. So it needs to be taken away and burned....

outside the cave, please.))

Did any one notice not one single original opinion comes from Keith ?....
Sure sign of a peanut brain.

Are you two peanuts threatening me? Go ahead !

hunting might not have been going very good today?
it happens....
and vegetarian dishes are good for health.

old man....don't get your heart worked up so....
you are only angry because your youth has left you like so many people have also left you I'm sure....

Careful KeithL....if you are lucky enough, you may one day be an "old" man yourself...I beg you then, look back at your words.

Anyway, personal attacks based on people's "perceived" age, gender ect. and such are really below the belt, and not really an honorable way to win a debate

sure I will be old....but I will be amca...not moruk...

Rude only to peanuts, girls!

I accept the flowers....