The Strong Woman Happy Family Project, which is a social R&D project that lasts 14 months in 2021 and 2022, was carried out in cooperation with Kocaeli Governorship, universities, chambers of industry and commerce, Eastern Marmara Development Agency and Kocaeli City Council under the leadership of ŞURA Urban Policies and Research Center established within Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality. Prof. Hamza ATEŞ, a faculty member of our university, was among the researchers of the project.
The project in question aims to develop the role of women and the family in ensuring the continuity and functionality of society, based on the fact that women are the most basic necessity of a healthy society and the family is the carrier of social values, and to investigate what can be done on a local basis to strengthen the family, which is the cornerstone of society, against decay and corruption in society. Particularly women labour force participation and life balance, strengthening the harmony within the family in the postmodern age, ensuring the continuity of society by creating sustainable cities and communities, and finding innovative solutions especially for women’s empowerment in vulnerable positions were determined as the main areas on which the project focused.
The Strong Woman Happy Family Project was created in 3 basic steps. In the first step, a large-scale field research was conducted using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. In this context, a face-to-face survey was conducted with 3,500 women throughout the province, in-depth interviews with 100 women, and a special survey on women’s problems during the pandemic was administered to ENT staff. In the second step, a literature and cold data research was conducted on the main problems of women and public services for them. As a third step, the Women and Family Council and Workshop was organized on March 8, 2022, which is Women’s Day. At the Women and Family Council and Workshop, the issues of protecting and empowering women from vulnerable segments of society, preventing violence against women, spreading awareness of gender equality, making cities sustainable not only physically but also as a social structure, and preserving family values and transferring them to future generations were discussed.
It was aimed that the data obtained within the framework of the project would contribute to information and evaluation for the Women and Family Master Plan and the Sustainable Women and Family Action Plan, whose preparations are ongoing. These data were also planned to be published as an academic book.