SADA Women’s Cooperative is a business organization owned and run by refugee women and Turkish women, and located in Gaziantep, Türkiye, a city close to the Syrian border. The goal is to strengthen social connections, create employment opportunities, and promote financial independence for the women behind SADA. The partnership between 66°North and UN Women Iceland helps generate income for the women and supports the continued operation of SADA Cooperative.


“Türkiye is the country that hosts the highest number of Syrian refugees in the world. Many of whom, especially women, have struggled to support themselves and participate fully in Turkish society. Since the change in interim authorities in Syria, over one million Syrian refugees have returned. However, more than 1.2 million Syrian women remain in Türkiye under temporary protection,” says Sara McMahon, Head of Communications at UN Women Iceland.

66°North and UN Women Iceland visited Gaziantep in September 2022. Accompanying them was director Erlendur Sveinsson, who produced two short documentaries telling the stories of two women from SADA Cooperative.

We follow the journey of Khtem Kujjeh, who fled her home in Aleppo with her husband and children during the war. The family initially resided in a refugee camp, where Khtem’s husband passed away due to illness. Shortly thereafter, the remaining family members were granted temporary protection in Türkiye. Khtem is among the Syrians who have returned home following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad government.

Asuman Çiğit's story is featured in the second video. Asuman was born in Kahramanmaraş, southern Turkey, where she worked as a social worker until she lost her job. She had difficulty finding employment and found support and a social network in SADA.

The goal is to strengthen social connections, create employment opportunities, and promote financial independence for the women behind SADA. The partnership between 66°North and UN Women Iceland helps generate income for the women and supports the continued operation of SADA Cooperative.


The project is supported by the UN Sustainable Development Goals Partnership Fund for Development Cooperation.