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Sümeyye Temirov​

Amplifying Palestinian Voices: An Interview with Loor from the GENARRATION Project

As part of the GENARRATION project, we had the privilege of conducting a face-to-face interview in Tallinn with Loor, a young Palestinian from Jerusalem. In this conversation, Loor shares her personal story, the challenges faced by Palestinian youth, and the importance of reshaping narratives surrounding Palestinian identity. The interview was conducted by our member Fatya, with questions prepared and editorial work by our member Sümeyye.

International Women’s Network in Estonia (IWNE)

The Woman Who Inspires Me Most…

The members of IWNE have shared stories of the women who inspire them—women whose courage, kindness, and determination have shaped their lives. From teachers and activists to sisters and pioneers, these women remind us that inspiration is found not only in history books but in everyday acts of strength and resilience.

Maria-Katarina Johannesson

The Perfectionist’s Guide to Starting and Growing a Business

“Just do it” Just start the business. Be that cool, tech-savvy entrepreneur who just quit their job and then starts their entrepreneurial journey. I don’t know about you ladies, but I never thought that was very realistic. More importantly, I could never relate to it. Oh, I’m Maria-Katarina Johannesson by the way, or you can just call me “Maria” or Linksandmaria. I am not one of those cool entrepreneur people. I am a female business owner who is still trying to find her place. And honestly, it’s quite a lonely place to be, which is why I believe communities like IWNE play such an important role. I am still on my journey, it’s a bumpy one (especially since I have this not always very charming trait of being a perfectionist, which sometimes means focusing on the wrong things).

IWNE
Lilly O'Toole, MPH

The First Female Prisoner of Conscience in Georgia

It has been more than one month since Mzia Amaglobeli — founder of Batumelebi and Netgazeti, two of Georgia’s most well-regarded independent media platforms – was arrested. She has been on hunger strike ever since. Due to the critical risk of organ failure, Amaglobeli was relocated to a hospital outside of Tbilisi. The refusal by Batumi court to lift her pre-trial detention period, the strictest measure possible, means that she must remain in detainment until her trial on March 4th. The Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner says her pre-trial detention for assaulting a police officer is unjustified.

IWNE
Palina Yaroshyk

Is the Highest Form of Love According to Plato Only Available to Homosexuals? 

This work analyses the concept of love in Plato’s Phaedrus and Symposium. Many scholars while referring to the apparent emphasis on same-sex male relations conclude that the highest stage of eros—reaching the Form of Beauty—is only possible for males and only through homosexual love. By considering Plato’s texts as complementary, this essay argues that it is possible to understand Plato’s conception of love as transcending gender demonstrating that women, like men, are capable of experiencing and inspiring love in its highest, most ideal forms. Moreover, it argues that homosexual love, even though explicitly discussed by Plato, is not the only suitable interpretation, but it is also can be stretched to accommodate heterosexual relations.

IWNE
Maria

Breaking the Silence: The Need for Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) Awareness

It was perhaps a very chilly morning in the winter of 2007—one of those days when you do not want to come out of your bed as the very bare skin of your toe feels frozen when it contacts the air outside. But she was squirming in her bed, her legs writhing in pain, and her abdomen as if someone was crushing it with an axe. She was wet and felt something swollen between her legs. Once in the bathroom, she was frozen to death when she noticed scarlet red blood and quickly washed and put toilet rolls in her underwear. Something had gone wrong with her, but what was more horrible was how she felt at that moment: scared, embarrassed, shameful, sinful, dying, and in pain. Today, she’s almost in her 30s, and a tear flickers down her cheek as she pens down a poignant and uncomfortable memory about a moment that could have been lived better. A UNICEF poll launched via the U-Report platform (a U-Report is a social messaging tool) on the 9th of March 2017 in Pakistan showed that 49% of the women did not know about menstruation before their first period (Lihemo & Hafeez-Ur-Rehman, 2017).

Sümeyye Temirov​

Amplifying Palestinian Voices: An Interview with Loor from the GENARRATION Project

As part of the GENARRATION project, we had the privilege of conducting a face-to-face interview in Tallinn with Loor, a young Palestinian from Jerusalem. In this conversation, Loor shares her personal story, the challenges faced by Palestinian youth, and the importance of reshaping narratives surrounding Palestinian identity. The interview was conducted by our member Fatya, with questions prepared and editorial work by our member Sümeyye.

IWNE
Lilly O'Toole, MPH

The First Female Prisoner of Conscience in Georgia

It has been more than one month since Mzia Amaglobeli — founder of Batumelebi and Netgazeti, two of Georgia’s most well-regarded independent media platforms – was arrested. She has been on hunger strike ever since. Due to the critical risk of organ failure, Amaglobeli was relocated to a hospital outside of Tbilisi. The refusal by Batumi court to lift her pre-trial detention period, the strictest measure possible, means that she must remain in detainment until her trial on March 4th. The Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner says her pre-trial detention for assaulting a police officer is unjustified.

IWNE
Palina Yaroshyk

Is the Highest Form of Love According to Plato Only Available to Homosexuals? 

This work analyses the concept of love in Plato’s Phaedrus and Symposium. Many scholars while referring to the apparent emphasis on same-sex male relations conclude that the highest stage of eros—reaching the Form of Beauty—is only possible for males and only through homosexual love. By considering Plato’s texts as complementary, this essay argues that it is possible to understand Plato’s conception of love as transcending gender demonstrating that women, like men, are capable of experiencing and inspiring love in its highest, most ideal forms. Moreover, it argues that homosexual love, even though explicitly discussed by Plato, is not the only suitable interpretation, but it is also can be stretched to accommodate heterosexual relations. 

IWNE
Lilly O'Toole, MPH

The First Female Prisoner of Conscience in Georgia

It has been more than one month since Mzia Amaglobeli — founder of Batumelebi and Netgazeti, two of Georgia’s most well-regarded independent media platforms – was arrested. She has been on hunger strike ever since. Due to the critical risk of organ failure, Amaglobeli was relocated to a hospital outside of Tbilisi. The refusal by Batumi court to lift her pre-trial detention period, the strictest measure possible, means that she must remain in detainment until her trial on March 4th. The Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner says her pre-trial detention for assaulting a police officer is unjustified.

IWNE
Palina Yaroshyk

Is the Highest Form of Love According to Plato Only Available to Homosexuals? 

This work analyses the concept of love in Plato’s Phaedrus and Symposium. Many scholars while referring to the apparent emphasis on same-sex male relations conclude that the highest stage of eros—reaching the Form of Beauty—is only possible for males and only through homosexual love. By considering Plato’s texts as complementary, this essay argues that it is possible to understand Plato’s conception of love as transcending gender demonstrating that women, like men, are capable of experiencing and inspiring love in its highest, most ideal forms. Moreover, it argues that homosexual love, even though explicitly discussed by Plato, is not the only suitable interpretation, but it is also can be stretched to accommodate heterosexual relations. 

IWNE
Maria

The Gendered Crisis: Women’s Unpaid Work and Cheap Labour as a Non-traditional Security Threat

It was my summer semester break, and I was visiting my home in Pakistan. I relished the delicious food my mother made every day when I noticed that she got sick from the hot one day, and even then, she continued working in the kitchen. Summers in Pakistan are blazing hot, with severe electricity shortages, and the temperature often exceeds 40°C (104°F). Middle-class families cannot afford the luxury of having an air-conditioner in their kitchens, thus making the kitchen the hottest room. While the less privileged people can hardly afford the perk of having an air-conditioner in their homes, one can imagine the dire conditions in which women work. My mother’s condition made me wonder why a woman working at home does not enjoy the same benefits as any office worker.

International Women’s Network in Estonia (IWNE)

The Woman Who Inspires Me Most…

The members of IWNE have shared stories of the women who inspire them—women whose courage, kindness, and determination have shaped their lives. From teachers and activists to sisters and pioneers, these women remind us that inspiration is found not only in history books but in everyday acts of strength and resilience.

Maria-Katarina Johannesson

The Perfectionist’s Guide to Starting and Growing a Business

“Just do it” Just start the business. Be that cool, tech-savvy entrepreneur who just quit their job and then starts their entrepreneurial journey. I don’t know about you ladies, but I never thought that was very realistic. More importantly, I could never relate to it. Oh, I’m Maria-Katarina Johannesson by the way, or you can just call me “Maria” or Linksandmaria. I am not one of those cool entrepreneur people. I am a female business owner who is still trying to find her place. And honestly, it’s quite a lonely place to be, which is why I believe communities like IWNE play such an important role. I am still on my journey, it’s a bumpy one (especially since I have this not always very charming trait of being a perfectionist, which sometimes means focusing on the wrong things).

IWNE
Lilly O'Toole, MPH

The First Female Prisoner of Conscience in Georgia

It has been more than one month since Mzia Amaglobeli — founder of Batumelebi and Netgazeti, two of Georgia’s most well-regarded independent media platforms – was arrested. She has been on hunger strike ever since. Due to the critical risk of organ failure, Amaglobeli was relocated to a hospital outside of Tbilisi. The refusal by Batumi court to lift her pre-trial detention period, the strictest measure possible, means that she must remain in detainment until her trial on March 4th. The Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner says her pre-trial detention for assaulting a police officer is unjustified.

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