A Review of the WG 1 Workshop: “Reclaiming Urban Space. Feminist Responses to Anti-Gender Politics”, Istanbul 18-19 June 2026

We are delighted to present the programme and some visual highlights from the WG1 workshop entitled ‘Reclaiming Urban Space: Feminist Responses to Anti-Gender Politics’, which took place in Istanbul (18–19 June 2026).

WORKSHOP PROGRAMME
WG 1 WORKSHOP: RECLAIMING URBAN SPACE. FEMINST RESPONSES TO ANTI-GENDER POLITICS

Venue: Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul Museum of Painting and Sculpture, Halil Dikmen Conference Hall
Date: 18 - 19 June 2026

18 June 2026, Thursday

10:00 – 10:30 Welcome and Opening
Ceren Lordoğlu, Sevcan Tiftik

10:30 – 11:15 Keynote Speaker
Alev Özkazanç
"The Anti-Gender Scene and the Horizon of Resistance in Turkey "
Q & A

11:15 – 11:30 Coffee Break

11:30 – 13:15 SESSION 1
The Gender Regime of Authoritarianism in Turkey: Modes of Struggle and Collective Resistance
Moderator: Sevcan Tiftik

• Berfu Şeker – " Authoritarianization, Family Policies, and Feminist-Queer Resistance in Turkey "
• Sevcan Tiftik – "How Did the 'Year of the Family' Pass for Lubunyas?"
• Jiyan Andiç – "‘ I Remember, Do You?': Oppression and Resistance Against LGBTI+s in Turkey"

Q&A, Thinking Together, Discussion

13:15 – 14:15 Lunch Break

14:15 – 16:00 SESSION 2
Mobility and Presence of Women and LGBTI+ individuals in Urban Public Space
Moderator: Berfu Şeker

• Defne Güzel – " Rethinking the City: LGBTI+s' Access to Public Space and Urban Policies "
• Niyaz Uslu – "Everyday Boundaries of Public Space: Urban Mobility of Trans Individuals”
• İris Mozalar – " Bread, Rose and Space: Public Space on the Axis of Transmisogyny”
• Burcu Bingöllü – " The Shrinking Public Space and Insistence: Gathering Experiences of Women and LGBTI+s”

Q&A, Thinking Together, Discussion

16:00 – 17:00 Wrap Up and End of Day Evaluation

19 June 2026, Friday

10:30 – 12:00 SESSION 3
Neoliberal Urbanization, Displacement, and Gender-Based Violence
Moderator: Haktan Ural

• Bahar Sakızlıoğlu – " Restoring Masculinity through Multiple Displacements: Anti-Gender Politics and Urban Transformation in Istanbul”
• Yağmur Çağatay – " Neoliberal urban conditions and the spatial reconfiguration of gendered violence"
• Berfin Hanalp – "Between Visibility and Security: Public Space Experiences of Migrant Women and LGBTI+s"
• Ceren Lordoğlu – " The Spillover of Domestic Male Violence Against Women into Urban Space"

Q&A, Thinking Together, Discussion

12:00 – 12:15 Lunch Break

12:15 – 14:00 SESSION 4
An Intersection at the Grip of Crises: Mobility, Migration, and Anti-Gender Policies
Moderator: Ceren Lordoğlu

• Aysel Fidan – " LGBTI+s Want Peace: Transformative Justice Countering Anti-Gender Politics in Times of War and Crisis "
• Emirhan Şaşmaz – " Oppression Through the Judiciary: LGBTI+ Associations in Turkey and the Fight for Civic Freedom Under Competitive Authoritarianism "
• Selen Artan – " Public Representations of International Migration: The Gender Regime in Guest Worker Migration and the National Press "
• Haktan Ural – " Alimony as a Nodal Point of Polarization: Indefinite Alimony Debates in News Media and the Possibilities of Feminist Counter-Narratives"

Q&A, Thinking Together, Discussion

14:00 – 15:00 Lunch Break

15:00 – 16:30 Closing & Discussion on the Way Forward
International networks, joint publication opportunities, and future practices of solidarity