By Şahane Sultan Bedenlier, Panelist |
Compulsory Peace & ICT Education Campaign in Support of the International Day of Democracy,
organized and presented virtually by Light Millennium Global along with the Coalition on September 13, 2025. #CompulsoryPeaceICTEducation | #DemocracyDay

Background / Concept / Expected Outcomes | Bio of the Speakers & Profiles of the Participating Orgs.

Executive Summary

[LMGlobal.Org] Speaking as an academic and former politician, the speaker emphasizes the critical link between compulsory peace and ICT education and the practice of democracy. She critiques the gap between the rhetoric and reality of democracy, highlighting how technology has not always translated into real power for citizens, especially in preventing global conflicts. Drawing on her own experience as a woman from Türkiye, she contrasts the early rights granted to Turkish women with the struggles faced by women elsewhere, connecting this to the role of education. She argues that the two primary forces hindering peace and progress are imperialism and religious extremism, which often reinforce each other. The speaker concludes that for peace education to be effective, it must be implemented globally within a framework of free, secular, and unitary education that combats these systemic obstacles.

The speech below was delivered (virtually) by panelist Şahane Sultan Bedenlier at the “Compulsory Peace & ICT Education in Support of the International Day of Democracy” session.

From Anatolia to the World: The Interconnected Struggle Against Imperialism and Extremism

I salute everyone from the ancient Anatolian lands of Türkiye,

Today, we are addressing the importance of compulsory peace and ICT education in relation to democracy as we approach the International Day of Democracy.

As a former female politician, I’m aware of the need for women’s participation in this male-dominated workforce to foster peace, which is only possible through education. 

Unfortunately, it has taken the UN 55 years to finally link women to the peace and security of our world. The first UN Resolution on Women, Peace and Security (1325) was adopted in October 2000. In line with this resolution, during the annual Security Council Open Debate on women, peace, and security, the Secretary-General’s “Common Pledge for Women’s Full, Equal and Meaningful Participation in Peace Processes” was officially launched only last year.  

In my view, a word gets its meaning from the person who uses it, which means we may be using the same words but implying something different. Therefore, I would like to define what I mean by democracy, because democracy, just like terms such as equality, freedom, and human rights has become merely a bumper sticker.

As my experience of democracy goes, neither I nor my female ancestors have faced limitations on our social or political rights, as these liberties were given to women on a golden platter by Ataturk in the early 20^th century. Therefore, obstacles faced by a black American woman or a Greek woman or an Iranian woman, who still did not have voting rights in 1950, were not faced by my mother or her mother, who raised me. 

It is one thing to preach democracy and another to practice it. Ataturk is a rare example in the world as he always walked the talk, unlike most who ruled after him.

Since democracy, with all its flaws, still seems to be the best system today, our job is to make sure that its values are practiced, starting with allowing people’s voices to be heard. 

Are people’s voices heard today? One may argue that with the advancement of technology, we have more access to each other’s voices. But do they carry any power when we are not even able to stop genocides taking place in front of our eyes? Neither powerful sovereign states nor the UN has been able to do so. We saw it with the illegal war waged on Iraq, with what was done to Turkish Cypriots in the 1960s, to Bosnians, to Azerbaijani Turks, and today to Palestinians. The list is long.

There is a process in the UN called “uniting for peace”, which can bypass the anti-democratic UN Security Council vote, but it hasn’t been used lately. 

Let’s go back to defining democracy. Democracy blocks the road to despotism; it requires separation of powers, it is a system where lawmakers, too, must obey the laws. 

My area of expertise is the Middle East, another colonial term. And I teach why the Islamic world is in this terrible condition today and is far from democracy. The first commandment of the Quran is to read. But according to UNICEF, 30 million children in MENA are out of school. Why? The first reason is that Muslims are far from the teachings of their own religious book. And the second reason is the never-ending wars waged on their countries by Western imperial powers. 

Quran, through the concepts of Bayat (social contract) and Shura (mutual consultation) requires democracy. It places human rights above religions, and its understanding of democracy refers to a system that belongs to people of virtue, not merely on account of raised hands. Because without virtue, despotism of the majority would take the stage in the name of democracy. However, whatever is arranged in the Quran regarding human rights, just the opposite is in operation in the Islamic world. (Reconstruction of Religious Life in Islam, Prof Ozturk, 1999) 

For instance, Saudi Arabia didn’t sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights because they are against the one’s right to change religion. While the Quran tells humanity that there is no compulsion in religion. How then do we expect any kind of human rights to flourish in Saudi Arabia, let alone peace education? And why is the US, which claims to be synonymous with all freedoms, the closest ally of Saudi Arabia? 

I feel compelled to touch these sensitive issues because I know how passionate and sincere Bircan Hanim is in giving her % 100% to promote peace education on a global scale, and I have much respect for that. That is why I go to the core of the problem, to provide real solutions. 

For us to talk about any advancement in the Islamic world, they must return to the Islam of the Quran. How is this possible? Only through secularism. Does the Quran support secularism? Yes. As the great philosopher Muhammad Iqbal said: “The finality of prophethood is a prelude to secularism.” Secularism protects religion from politics and politics from religious exploiters.

Political Islam is a response to the failures of secular development in the Islamic world. And the whole world suffers from political Islam. As my late teacher Professor Ozturk used to say, this is what makes Ataturk still the only solution for the Islamic world today. 

Therefore, if we are to talk about peace education, human advancement, combating hatred, security, and equality, we must recognize the two interlinked forces that block the way to all of these. First is imperialism, which is predicated on subjugation, and second is religious extremism. History has shown us that the former has always empowered the latter. 

It must become unacceptable to us all when a state boasts about its democracy yet acts undemocratic in its foreign affairs. 

One of the ways that imperialism works today is through soft power, by indoctrinating other nations through their education system and by stripping them of their national identities, culture, and language, and by imposing utopian ideas such as that sovereignty should be a thing of the past. 

What is global citizenry when the superpowers of the world make every decision based on their own national interests and create plans such as the Great Middle Eastern Initiative, which aims to divide nations from within and to re-create borders? 

Peace is only possible if there is freedom. A country that has lost its national sovereignty is no longer free. And peace education in an unfree country is an oxymoron.  

The countries that suffer from civil unrest, extreme poverty, and female oppression are all ex-colonies of Western powers. Poverty is a huge factor determining whether a girl can have access to education. Girls are subject to violence, to child marriage, which limits educational opportunities. Not only in countries such as Afghanistan, in the US, only 13 states out of 50 have banned child marriage. And wherever religion is used as a means of political power, it is women who suffer the most.

Could all these obstacles be solved through compulsory peace education? I believe it is the most efficient solution. But for that to work, all UN member states must enforce laws to make education free, secular, and unitary.

Thank you very much.