Süheyla

We are a family of seven. Five kids. I am 20 years old. I graduated from the literacy course at the "Life Center." I come here to do sewing and embroidery. In life what I love the most is my family and friends; we are always together. 

After that I really love shopping! Mostly for clothes… Because we are covered, you know, it’s all about color! Red, bordeaux, turquoise, and cream.

We get up around 7AM, if we have housework we do that and come to the Life Center around 9AM. We are here until 1PM, then we go home, we prepare food. The girls sit and chat. In the evening we read the Koran. We are never bored.

I’d love to travel!

We’ve never been anywhere in Turkey. I really want to go and see. Apart from studying you can learn a lot that way. I’ve never even been to Akdamar Island here in Van! There is all this beauty here in Van and we haven’t seen any of it!

It’s just our conditioning here. It’s the rules. If our social circle were different – you know – then things would be different for us.  This society belittles girls and puts them down. Girls cannot dress the way they want, they cannot go out to work – the cause is something passed down from of old. I want to change it.