Prof. Dr. Feride Acar

Prof. Feride Acar served as a faculty member and Chair of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at Middle East Technical University (METU) between 1976 and 2015, where she taught courses on political sociology and social movements. In 1994, she became the Founding Chair of METU’s Master’s Program in Gender and Women’s Studies, where she also offered graduate-level courses on women’s human rights in international contexts. Throughout her academic career, Prof. Acar has played an active role in the negotiations, drafting, and monitoring of numerous key international documents on women’s human rights and gender equality. These include the Beijing Platform for Action (1995), the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) (1998–1999), and the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention (2009–2010). She was elected to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) for the terms 1997–2005 and 2010–2018, and served as its Chair between 2003 and 2005. Prof. Acar was also Turkey’s sole delegate to the Council of Europe’s Ad Hoc Committee on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (CAHVIO), which negotiated and drafted the Istanbul Convention. Following its entry into force, she was elected President of GREVIO (2015–2019), the independent expert body monitoring the implementation of the Convention. Prof. Acar continues to participate in academic and civil society activities as a speaker.