Women in Command: Hybrid Threat Rising
a. The Turkish defense industry reports the distribution of men and women as 43%. However, in reality, on one hand women are not given positions to some places, on the other hand ,women’s appointments to some positions are completely prohibited. Only 7% of women hold executive positions in the defense industry.
b. Due to the increasing migration, climate crises, cultural polarizations and increasing technologies; the relative power distortions between the forces have exacerbated the crisis environment. There are situations in which non-state armed actors can “equivalent” regular armies as a force. This changing understanding of warfare is called Hybrid Warfare.
c. It is a fact that countries can enter into violent wars with just a spark and cause humanitarian crises. Advanced technology weapon systems in the hands of developing countries provide countries with a false sense of trust. The most frightening scenario is the human losses and humanitarian crises that will be created by wars based on this false trust.
ç. For the above-mentioned reason, it is necessary to understand the changing battlefield and to approach this whole crisis from the perspective of “providing security and peace” instead of “winning the war”.
d. This project was initiated with the funding support of the US Embassy in Ankara in order to enable women leaders to lead these changes, and to help them start their careers ahead in this partially studied and not well known field in Turkey.
e. To the women leaders selected within the scope of the project;
(I) skills development training will be provided to assist their careers,
(II) Workshops on Hybrid Warfare, the changing security environment, and security and peace studies will be held with leading field experts both at home and abroad.
(III) A comprehensive reading list and library of hard-to-access resources on the above-mentioned topics will be created and presented.
(IV) Within the scope of the project, a wargame about Hybrid War will be developed for women leaders. The wargame method has been the main training tool used in the training of officers since the 1800s.
The empowerment of women in the social, economic and political arena is one of KızBaşına’s (Just-a-Girl) biggest goals, and with the project titled “Women in Command”, which have been developed for this purpose; KızBaşına’s aim to increase the place of women not only in the defense and security sector, strategic decision-making mechanisms, domestic and foreign policy table in Turkey, but also to ensure peace and security permanently and inclusively within the leadership of women. With the aim of empowering women in these fields, the Women in Command Project brings to life the first wargame of Turkey, called “Women in Command: Hybrid Threat Rising”, which is the first civil war game with the theme of hybrid warfare and was developed for the purpose of directly training female leaders.
For 6 weeks, the project will support leader women with workshops on strategic decision making, humanitarian crises, international crises, peace processes, security studies, and will contribute to women’s management not only of the crises they have experienced in their lives, but also of national crises. Moreover, this project, prepared to support the careers of the participants, will be a gateway for leader women to establish networks at the international level. With Turkey’s first civil wargame, what will have been learned in the workshops will be reinforced, and the women who best manage crises in the game will have the chance to win surprise awards and certificates.
The project, which will be carried out in English, will continue throughout September and will be supported by workshops by experts in their fields. During this period, qualification, quarter-final and semi-final tournaments will be held online.
Dates:
1st Wargame Leadership Program & Workshop: Aug 28st, 2021
2nd Wargame Leadership Program & Workshop: Sept 15th, 2021
Expert workshops & tournaments: Aug 30th2021 & Sept 26th, 2021
Tournament Semi-Final: Oct 2nd, 2021 – Oct 10rd, 2021
Tournament Grand Final: Oct 16th, 2021 – Oct 24th, 2021
Conference & Award Ceremony: Oct 30th, 2021
Awards:
1st place: 7000 TL
2nd place: 5000 TL
3rd place: 3000 TL
Workshop speakers, experts:
Participation requirements: Applications are expected from leader women between the ages of 18-24 who are interested in crisis management, peace processes, critical decision-making processes, strategic thinking, negotiation, and are fluent in English eager to improve themselves.