title: Flying Broom
text: # Flying Broom
  
  The Flying Broom (Turkish: Uçan Süpürge) is a feminist organization in Turkey. Founded 1996 in Ankara, the organization aims to raise consciousness for gender equality while providing information and training to empower women.
  
  Most recognized for its annual International Women's Film Festival, the Flying Broom has launched several projects in different areas within Turkish civil society. It was particularly influential in the 2005 amendment of the Turkish penal code, turning violent crimes against women into crimes against the victim itself rather than against crimes against property of the family or society.
  
  The organization was founded in 1996 by Halime Güner [tr] and two feminist academics Filiz Kardam [tr] and Yıldız Ecevit [tr] to revitalize the stalling Turkish feminist movement of the 1990s. Since 1998 it has published the bimonthly magazine Uçan Haber ("Flying News").
  
  The organization's projects include:
  
  * Database of Women's organizations in Turkey
  * Network of Local Women Reporters
  * Women's Website Project
  * Gender awareness program "Building bridges" (Köprüler Kuruyoruz)
  * From paths to roads
  * International Women's Film Festival
  * Academic conferences at Ankara's Middle East Technical University
  * Radio and television programs
  
  The organization also prepared reports on the situation of women in Turkey for the U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women, 1995 in Beijing.
  
  Currently, the organization is lead coordinator of the EU funded Civil Society Dialogue project "Watch Your Shadow" (Gölge Meclis), which aims at increasing the participation of women in local politics.
  
  