The Frontline: Elif Shafak and the Power of Our Stories

The author of 18 books of fiction and non-fiction, including The Bastard of Istanbul,Honour, and Three Daughters of Eve, Elif has come under fire from the Turkish authorities for writing about human rights abuses that its government denies. Her most recent novel, 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World, which tells the story of a sex worker in Istanbul, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2019. It sparked another investigation by Turkish prosecutors for addressing child abuse and sexual violence in her writing.

Elif joins ILGA-Europe’s Executive Director, Evelyne Paradis to talk about a widespread decline of democracy, the fight for LGBTI rights and equality, the power of our stories and her own journey towards being a vocal member of the LGBTI community. 

Listen below or click here to listen and subscribe to The Frontline on your favourite podcast platform.

Istanbul Convention: We achieved a lot together and we will not stop there!

A rainbow flag flies against a blue sky

Nine European umbrella civil society organisations – including ILGA-Europe – have written to Thorbjorn Jagland (CoE Secretary General) on why the Istanbul Convention is still so important. 

Our organisations all believe that the Istanbul Convention can bring change and have a real impact on the lives of women and girls in Europe.

On behalf of the hundreds of millions of citizens, and in particular, women and girls, represented through our nine European umbrella civil society organisations, we are writing to thank the Council of Europe for its great work and achievements in relation to preventing and fighting against gender-based violence.

We have no doubt that the CoE will continue to demonstrate leadership towards protecting all women from gender-based violence and to encourage all the CoE Member States to ratify the Convention and to fully implement it.

We look forward to continue working with the CoE towards a continent free from gender-based violence where all women feel safe and empowered.

Read the letter to Thorbjorn Jagland in full here. 

Signed by:

  • Amnesty International
  • Center for Reproductive Rights
  • The European Humanist Federation
  • ILGA-Europe – the European region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association
  • The European Women’s Lobby
  • The International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network
  • Organisation Intersex International Europe
  • The Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants
  • Transgender Europe

cc: Michele Nicoletti, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Dunja Mijatovi?, Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Feride Acar, President of the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, and Snežana Samardži?-Markovi?, Director General of DG Democracy.

Update: