KADEM’s Academic Field Study in the United Kingdom

As the Women and Democracy Foundation (KADEM), we conducted a series of visits in the United Kingdom between April 13–22, 2025, with the aim of closely following global agendas on women’s political, social, and academic representation and strengthening international cooperation.

Our delegation, consisting of Deputy General Manager for Advocacy and Research Dr. Betül Özel Çiçek, Board Member Assoc. Prof. Zeynep Kevser Şerefoğlu Danış, Academy Board members Dr. Nursem Keskin Aksay, Dr. Ravza Altuntaş Çakır, Assoc. Prof. Yaylagül Ceran Karataş (online), and Foreign Affairs Specialist Nurbanu Küçük, carried out academic, diplomatic, and civil society-focused engagements in Birmingham, Oxford, London, and Edinburgh.

The first stop of our visit was the 75th Annual Conference of the Political Studies Association (PSA) in Birmingham. Under the theme “What’s Next?”, our delegation contributed to two significant panels on women’s freedom and social policy.

In the panel titled “Modern Liberty – Women’s Freedom Perspectives from Critical Feminism, the Ancient World, and Islam,” Dr. Betül Özel Çiçek examined the concept of women’s freedom in antiquity from a feminist perspective, while Assoc. Prof. Zeynep Kevser Şerefoğlu Danış and Dr. Ravza Altuntaş Çakır focused on representations of women’s freedom in Islamic texts. Assoc. Prof. Yaylagül Ceran Karataş explored the concept of the “killjoy subject” in feminist theory.

In another panel titled “Current Trends in Social Policy: The International Perspective,” with contributions from Dr. Nursem Keskin Aksay, political discourse was explored through emotional and bodily representations in the public sphere.

Oxford University

On April 16, we met with Dr. Marilyn Booth at Oxford University. Discussions included potential contributions to the international advisory board of the KADEM Journal of Women’s Studies, increasing the journal’s international visibility, and fostering academic collaborations.