In Batman, girls and boys played on the same team to draw attention to gender equality.

Teams participating in the traditional volleyball tournament held in the Yücebağ town of Sason district, Batman, played together in mixed teams of girls and boys to draw attention to gender equality.

The traditional Yücebağ festivities, co-organized by the Municipality and the Sason District National Education Directorate, kicked off the award-winning volleyball tournament at Yücebağ Borsa İstanbul Boarding Regional Primary and Secondary School with the participation of 14 teams and 140 athletes. In the formed teams, female and male athletes played together on the field.

Tuğba Koç, a student from Şehitler Middle School, stated that they aimed to emphasize gender equality by playing in mixed teams: “We had a lot of fun in this tournament. Girls saw how strong we are alongside boys. We aimed for this tournament to be an example for the region. If we have succeeded in this, we are very happy.”

Ebu Bekir Akkuş, a student from Umurlu Middle School, said, “Today, girls and boys fought together. At the same time, we also saw the strength of girls. We came in second place in this tournament, but we are still very happy. We witnessed the power of women. I congratulate them all.”

Hamdi Çelebi, the principal of Yücebağ Borsa İstanbul Boarding Regional Primary and Secondary School, which hosted the tournament, stated that the purpose of having girls and boys in the same teams was to highlight gender equality and to show that there is no gender discrimination. Çelebi said, “The enrollment rate of girls in our region is very low, and our girls do not participate in games. We aimed to break this perception by demonstrating that girls and boys can achieve things better together. By having our female and male players play together in mixed teams in this tournament, we wanted to change this perception, and I believe we have succeeded. I thank everyone who contributed.”

The teams from Şehitler Middle School and Umurlu Middle School, which managed to eliminate all their competitors in the tournament, faced off in the final. The Şehitler Middle School Team became the champion by defeating their opponent 3-1 in the final match.