Pinar Ilkkaracan

2007 Women's Rights Prize

Laureate Profile

Pinar Ilkkaracan is a psychotherapist and researcher who, through Women for Women’s New Ways (WWHR) – an organization she founded – and the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Countries (CSBR) – a bi-regional solidarity network she initiated – has pioneered reforms to anchor women’s equality in the legal system, and created a nationwide human rights program to enable women to exercise their rights in Turkey.

She has built a regional network to increase the knowledge, solidarity, and advocacy on bodily integrity and human rights among women and men in Muslim societies. She is also a leading advocate for women’s human rights internationally.

Women for Women’s Human Rights-New Ways (WWHR) is an organization that, through a decade of activism, advocacy, and lobbying, has contributed significantly to various legal reforms in Turkey, networking in Muslim societies, and promotion of women’s human rights at the United Nations (UN) level. Since 2005, WWHR has consultative status with the Economic & Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN. As a leading independent women’s NGO worldwide, WWHR has set precedents including successful advocacy initiatives for women’s human rights, the provision of the most widespread human rights training program for women in Turkey, and promotion of sexual rights as human rights in Muslim societies.

WWHR has initiated and is coordinating “The Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR),” the only active solidarity network in Muslim Societies that works for the promotion of sexual and reproductive health and rights as human rights. CSBR is a bi-regional network of 38 organizations from 14 countries. Founded in 2001, it has spearheaded activist work on advocacy and lobbying for sexual and bodily rights in Muslim societies. Advocating to transform and eliminate customary practices and discriminatory attitudes leading to human rights violations, CSBR has catalyzed and supported advocacy efforts on national levels and international platforms.