Feride Acar (born 1948) is a Turkish international expert on women and gender. She was the founding chair of the

Middle East Technical University Middle East Technical University (commonly referred to as METU; in Turkish language, Turkish, ''Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi'', ODTÜ) is a public university, public Institute of technology, technical university located in Ankara, Turkey. The ...

's gender and women's studies program. Between 2003 and 2005 served as chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and served three consecutive terms as president of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

's Group of Experts of Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO). In 2019, she was awarded the Pro Merito Medal of the Council of Europe for her service to that body in advancing women's rights.

Early life and education

Ayşe Feride Acar was born on 14 January 1948 in

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

, Turkey. She earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

at the

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

in 1970. She furthered her education in the United States, earning a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1973 and a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in 1976, from

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

in political sociology.

Career

Academics

After completing her studies, Acar returned to Turkey and was hired as an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Administration at the Middle East Technical University (METU), teaching sociology. She was the founding chair of the Gender and Women's Studies Graduate Program at METU and served as its head from 1994 to 2004. Simultaneously, she served as chair of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration from 2001 to 2007. She retired in 2015.

Activism

From the 1980s, Acar was active in the women's rights movement. She attended the

1995 Beijing Conference on women The Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace was the name given for a conference convened by the United Nations during 4–15 September 1995 in Beijing, China. At this conference, governments from around the ...

and was elected to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) in 1997. She served on the CEDAW Committee through 2005, acting as its rapporteur between 1999 and 2001, vice president from 2001 to 2003, and president between 2003 and 2005. She returned to the CEDAW Committee in 2011 and served until 2019. She assisted in the development of the

Istanbul Convention The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention, is a human rights treaty of the Council of Europe against violence against women and domestic v ...

from 2006 to 2011 and when its monitoring organ went into force, she served as a member. She was the Turkish Representative of the first monitoring Ad Hoc Committee (CAHVIO) from 2009 to 2010, and from 2015, the Group of Experts of Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO). Acar was elected for three consecutive terms as president of GREVIO, completing her service in 2019.

Awards and honors

In 2010, she was the honoree of the

Parliamentarians for Global Action Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) is a non-profit, non-partisan international network of committed legislators, that informs and mobilizes parliamentarians in all regions of the world to advocate for human rights and the rule of law, democr ...

's Defender of Democracy Award. In 2018, she was honored for her record in human rights by the Canadian government and that same year was honored by the Turkish Association of University Women for her activism. In 2019, Acar was awarded the Pro Merito Medal of the Council of Europe for her service in advancing women's rights.

Research and selected works

The focus of Acar's research has typically been gender equality and women's rights. She has written on women in academia and education, in socio-political movements, and with regard to international human rights standards. Among her works are: * * * * * * *

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Acar, Feride 1948 births Living people People from Bursa Middle East Technical University alumni Bryn Mawr College alumni Academic staff of Middle East Technical University Gender studies academics Turkish sociologists Turkish women's rights activists Turkish women activists Turkish women academics Turkish women sociologists 20th-century Turkish women scientists 20th-century social scientists 21st-century social scientists