Click here to access Yakin Ertürk's Oral History audio files.

Additionally, you can click here to access the accompanying time-coded summary of the interview. Full transcripts and other oral history materials are available at the British Library Sound Archive, London, United Kingdom, and at the WLP office in Bethesda, MD. For more information, please consult our Oral History Archive of the Global Women’s Movement Terms of Use. 

About the Interviewee* 

Yakin Ertürk (Turkey) has represented numerous international agencies on rural development and women in development projects including as Director of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) in the Dominican Republic; Director of The Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) at UN Headquarters in New York; UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women (SRVAW) (2003-2009); member of the Council of Europe, Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) (2009-2013); member of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry of the June 2010 events in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan (Oct. 2010-April 2011); and member of the International Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syrian Arab Republic of the UN Human Rights Council (2011-2012). In her capacity as the SRVAW Ertürk undertook 17 country visits at the invitation of the governments concerned.

She is founding chair (2013) and currently member of the board of Migration and Asylum Research Center (IGAM). Among her publications are Sınır Tanımayan Şiddet: Paradigma, Politika ve Pratikteki Yönleriyle Kadına Şiddet (Violence Without Borders: Paradigm, Policy and Practical Aspects of Violence against Women) (2015); “Culture versus Rights Dualism: A Myth or a Reality?” on openDemocracy.net (2012) and “Linking Research, Policy and Action: A look at the work of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women” in Current Sociology co-authored with B. Purkayastha (2012).

*This brief biography was recorded concurrently with the subject’s interview for the WLP Oral History Archive of the Global Women’s Movement.

About the WLP Oral History Project

The WLP Oral History Archive of the Global Women’s Movement preserves stories and lessons of women’s rights activists from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America who have left their mark on the struggle for women’s advancement. We have collected dozens of oral histories from 25 countries, and the project is ongoing. Since 2014, WLP has collaborated with the Sound Archive of the British Library to host the repository.

Read more ABOUT OUR ORAL HISTORY PROJECT.

Read our Oral History Archive of the Global Women’s Movement Terms of Use.