Day-Mer has been concerned with supporting Turkish, Kurdish and Cypriot Turkish women since its establishment in 1989 and there has been a continuous women’s service providing a point of contact, activities such as breakfast clubs and crafts classes and health information services and involvement in the organisation’s work. Day-Mer has experience of participating and delivering projects working with women funded locally and independently including services with various other women's organisations from European countries and in volunteering projects eliminating violence against women.

The organisation has a distinct presence of women in its work which is steered by a Women’s Commission. In the recent period, the organisation’s work with women focussed on recent women migrants; this involved workshops and group’s sessions for women to air their language, cultural, personal and professional development needs and receive practical information and access to services available. While our advice services respond to women’s and families welfare, housing, health and other social needs in the short term, participation to regular folk dance, choir and drama classes and showcasing events contribute to their personal development, enabling their active participation to community life.

Directed by the Women’s Commission, Day-Mer creates a space where women who are under a lot of pressure from their responsibilities at home and work can express themselves, put their loneliness aside, socialise, discover and share their talents.

Day-Mer’s work over the years owes much to the women who has designed and delivered this work with the communities. The continuing strong presence of women in Day-Mer’s work continues to be a progression through which women participate in the wealth of mainstream professional and educational opportunities. But further, it continues to ensure the development and sustainability of capacity and culture within the Turkish, Kurdish and Cypriot Turkish women living in London to design and deliver social provision responding to their own needs.

Current Day-Mer’s Women Service objectives include collection of data about the evolving social needs of these service groups, developing initiatives to improve presence of women in Day-Mer and in the community through organisational development support and to develop further the partnerships it has been developing with community and local partners over the pandemic period. See below for our regular and periodical activities for women.