The Suna’nın Kızları (Suna's Daughters) initiative, launched under the umbrella of the Suna and Inan Kıraç Foundation in 2021 in Istanbul, works to maintain the efforts, values, goals, and vision of businessperson Suna Kıraç in the field of education and has recently initiated efforts to establish a safe space to tend to the needs of girls in Türkiye’s earthquake-affected areas.
Within the initiative’s framework, it plans to establish three centers in temporary settlement areas in earthquake zones by the end of May and increase the number of centers to 10 in line with the region’s needs, the founder of the initiative noted recently.
Speaking on the subject, the founder of the Suna’nın Kızları initiative, Ipek Kıraç, said, “As Suna’nın Kızları, we are taking action to establish centers for all children, especially girls aged 11-18, in the regions affected by earthquakes.”
“Together with the nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) affiliated with us, we work on creating inclusive spaces that can prevent children from disengaging from education,” Kıraç added, noting they aim to implement long-term supportive programs in the centers to be implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Family and Social Services and the NGOs.
Pointing out that especially adolescent girls are among the groups most adversely affected by disasters, Kıraç emphasized the increased probability of children being exposed to risks such as early and forced marriages, child labor, dropping out from school and other types of abuse in times of disaster and crisis.
Creating safe areas where girls can spend time with their peers is essential to avoid possible risks. Kıraç further noted the need for quick and easy access to child protection services and meeting their developmental needs.
“Global research on times of disaster and crisis draws attention to the risk that 70% of girls and women may be exposed to violence in various forms in these situations. It takes a lot of effort to eliminate this level of risk,” Kıraç noted.
They are also working to ensure that the centers established in the region are safe emotionally and physically. Kıraç said, “The effect of the programs to be implemented is possible with the competence of the teams to be assigned and children being active stakeholders in the process.”
“We hope that the programs and models produced by the Suna’nın Kızları community, which puts child safety at the center of all its activities, will benefit all children in the long term,” she said.
With the centers to be established within the scope of the work initiated by the Suna’nın Kızları initiative, they aim to support children's access to education and eliminate the risk of school dropouts while creating safe spaces for them to meet and socialize with their peers, providing adolescent and girl-friendly health information and services that contribute to their emotional, physical and social well-being, opening a space for sports and arts-oriented studies to support the development of children and ensuring children’s rights and empowerment to access services. In the current conditions, the foundation hopes to form opportunities for children’s voices and opinions to be heard and to increase their participation in making decisions.
