00:03Murder. Intrigue. Love affairs.
00:06I'm not dreaming.
00:08When it comes to soap operas, the more absurd and exaggerated, the better.
00:16Though here in Turkey, soap operas are going beyond the juicy drama for storylines with a social mission.
00:23In Turkey, women face physical violence.
00:26They face with lack of independence, and there is more tragedy for women in Turkey.
00:33Here in Turkey, we will meet some of the most powerful women in media,
00:37who are using this over-the-top storytelling to boldly confront the biggest issues facing women in the Middle East
00:43today.
00:44It seems like all women are facing similar issues around the world.
00:54That looks amazing.
00:56Shall we get here?
00:57Yeah.
00:59We're here in the beautiful city of Istanbul, discovering what feminism means for Turkish women.
01:06Turkey is known as the media capital of the Middle East, and in particular, the soap operas have created a
01:10phenomenon across the globe.
01:13In 2005, Gamış, a Turkish soap opera with an everyday heroine, burst on the scene and it became a global
01:20hit.
01:31In the last decade, Gamış and a string of other Turkish soap operas have been translated into 15 languages and
01:39broadcast to countries around the world.
01:42The finale of Gamouche reached more than 80 million viewers
01:46across the Middle East and North Africa.
01:49The demand is overwhelming.
01:52We sat in on a scene being filmed for one of the latest series.
02:00This scene is so intense.
02:12We're here to meet Pailin Distis,
02:15recently named one of the 20 most powerful women in global TV.
02:19She's the editor-in-chief of Canel Day, Turkey's number one network.
02:23Why do you think it's important to choose stories with strong female leads?
02:29There's more tragedy for women in Turkey.
02:33I think that's why we find those characters more.
02:38They are really heroes if you look from that side.
02:42Can you share more about that as far as there's more tragic stories
02:47or more stories of triumph for women in Turkey?
02:50What are some of the issues women face here in Turkey
02:53that you often make stories about?
02:56In Turkey, women face physical violence.
02:59They face with lack of independence
03:01and they couldn't live how they want to live
03:05because there's so much pressure from the society on the women.
03:20We sat down with Pailin and her colleagues
03:22to talk about the impact of Turkish shows
03:24and how the title characters from the drama Gumus
03:28have inspired women across the Middle East to transform their lives.
03:31What do you think is resonating with women around the world
03:34when they watch this show?
03:36I think they just empathize with the character, all females,
03:41because it's just very ordinary female.
03:44Just the power and the strongness inside the character made successful.
03:51So Gumus in the story of this woman,
03:54it's more an ordinary woman that possesses extraordinary internal strength
03:59and that was what resonated with women
04:01and really helped them to kind of change their personal situations
04:04and pursue their rights and change their relationship.
04:29It's powerful, strong women. Has a huge effect.
04:47In Istanbul, we found another point where the power of the soap opera and the real world intersect.
04:55One of the hot policy issues here is the inequity in the law regarding femicide.
05:00If a woman is killed by her husband or boyfriend, the killer often goes free.
05:07We met with Fikria Yilmez, an activist with the protest group We Will Stop Femicide.
05:15They hold protests outside the courts when these cases go to trial to shine a light on the inequalities of
05:22the laws when it comes to the murder of women.
05:28Last year, they teamed up with soap opera producers to help them spread their message.
05:32The main actress of this soap opera, she was very touched with what we do.
05:37And there was actually a process of this character who was raped by a man.
05:41So she asked to make like a protestation in the soap opera itself.
05:44And this has a big effect because when we say it's something else,
05:48but when a woman who is watched by like millions of people, it has a big effect.
05:53That's the end.
05:55This will be the end.
05:56This will be the end.
05:57This will be the end.
05:57This will be the end.
05:58I will be the end.
06:03This will be the end.
06:04This will be the end.
06:04Knowing your power to reach the masses, do you feel pressure as women to write characters
06:10that truly help women try to become more liberated?
06:13I'm sorry.
06:17I mean I think that is the situation there.
06:19So, like this, I don't know, I'm doing this.
06:21I don't know what the world is about.
06:24It isn't a question that I don't know ...
06:25There's a question about others who might be there.
06:27You know what he's doing?
06:29If you're a professional at all, I get a different experience.
06:35And now, I'm learning about it.
06:37People say that I'm a private person.
07:01It seems like all women are facing similar issues around the world.
07:06Of course, the feelings are the same. The way of acting is different only, but the feelings
07:12are the same all over the world.
07:19How do I quantity? Two jugons, boom, got it.
07:26The impact isn't just in the mindset of how women perceive their roles.
07:31For some, it's translating into action.
07:34We are headed to the offices of Kadim Partisi, which is the women's political party here in Turkey.
07:40We're going to sit down with the founding members to discuss what a woman's place is in politics
07:45and to learn more about the issues that women are facing here in Turkey.
07:50Kadim Partisi is a new political party and one of the few feminist parties in the world.
07:55We sat in on one of their meetings before we spoke to their chairperson, Benal Yazgen,
08:00former activist turned politician.
08:04One of the things that we had read about about the women's party here is that domestic violence
08:10against women is one of the issues that you're really looking to address.
08:14I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit more about what domestic violence is like in Turkey
08:19for women.
08:20What do you think?
08:21What do you think?
08:21Türkiye'de son yıllarda kadın cinayeti gerçekten sayıları arttı.
08:26Bir taraftan diğer taraftan kadın hareketinin de sürekli kadınlara,
08:30kendi kadınlarının kendi haklarını anlatmış olması her iki tarafta da bir çelişki yaratıyor.
08:37Kadınlar artık kendi haklarını öğrendiklerinde eşlerinden boşanmak istediklerinde şiddet görüyorlar.
08:45Çalışma hayatından geri çekilmeye başlaması şiddetin de yukarı doğru çıkmasına neden oldu.
08:50Biz kadın partisi olarak kadın erkek eşitliğinin sağlandığında ve kadının yeriyle ilgili erkeklere gerekli eğitim ve ülkeye gerekli eğitim yerinin
09:02dikkatleri,
09:03bunun aşağı doğru çekileceğini ve eşitleneceğini düşünüyoruz.
09:11Soap Operası
09:12From the safety of a sound stage and a television set,
09:15soap opera storylines will continue to explore topics and ideas that would otherwise be taboo.
09:22And yet, with every person that turns on their television, the message is clear.
09:27Women are finding their voice with protest and politics.
09:32Maybe instead of making a documentary, we should be making a soap opera right now.
09:36I think you're onto something. I mean, yeah.
