Since the July 15 attempted coup, the Turkish political sphere has been experiencing a gradual but perceptible masculinization. Increased security threats, expanded military operations into Syria and southeastern Turkey, emergency law, and continuing arrests and purges are facts of daily life now. This testosterone trend can also be seen on daily TV programs.

For most Turks, TV is their only source of information. Almost every night there are political talk shows featuring five to seven pundits focusing on a current issue. These shows are aired during prime time in the evening and they last two to three hours. For years, feminists have battled to have headscarved participants on these shows, yet as of late we see almost no women except for the moderator, whose personal views and analyses are rarely voiced.

At the end of August, Nilden Postalci, a communications scholar and political activist, along with a few others started a campaign on Twitter protesting all-male panels. Postalci told Al-Monitor, “Once the campaign started, it took off with two hashtags: #sirferkekpanel (all-male panel) and #menkafa (male/men head). Then Asli Tunc, a media professor from Istanbul Bilgi University, carried the issue to her column at the P24 website and we started to have a serious debate on social media.”

In her Sept. 4 column, Tunc reminded her readers how much these political discussion shows resemble Turkish coffee shops, where men sit sipping coffee and tea all day discussing politics. Tunc asks a rather difficult question, “Where are the women?” She highlights how important it is for individuals to take a stand against sexism all around the world and asks readers to sign a pledge to not be a part of all-male panels.