Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality has launched an 11-week Women’s Health Education Programme to support women’s access to accurate and reliable information about their bodies, as well as to address topics around gender equality.

The Department of Women’s Policies continues its work on women’s health alongside courses, workshops and activities designed to support women’s participation in social life. As part of this effort, the Women’s Health Education Programme has begun at the Quca Women’s Life Centre. The 11-week programme covers the following themes: “Communication and Self-Expression”, “Gender Equality/Inequality”, “Violence against Women and Ways to Tackle Violence”, “Adolescence”, “Reproductive Organs and Reproductive Health”, “Maternal and Infant Health”, “Sexual Health”, “Menopause”, and “General Health-Promoting Behaviours”.

Delivered as a closed-group programme

Run in two groups—one in the morning and one in the afternoon—the programme is delivered in a closed-group format. Through weekly sessions, the programme aims to help participants access accurate and reliable information about their own bodies; raise awareness around gender equality and violence against women; strengthen communication skills; and support more confident participation in social life.

The programme is not based solely on the transfer of information; it is delivered through a participatory, sharing-oriented approach. In this respect, it seeks to provide a safe learning environment where women can make their experiences visible, draw strength from one another and build solidarity.

“It offers a valuable space”

Following the first session, participants raised issues such as everyday inequalities and the invisible burdens women face. Women said that such gatherings offer a valuable space for them, sharing that they felt the empowering impact of mutual listening. At the end of the sessions, many women expressed their feelings.