Feride Acar is Professor of Political Sociology and Chair of Gender and Women's Studies in Middle East Technical University. She has received her Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College, USA. She has published and co-edited books and numerous articles on women in education; women's human rights and women and Islam.Ayşe Güneş-Ayata is Professor of Political Science in Middle East Technical University and Chair of the Center for Black Sea and Central Asia. She has a Ph.D. from the University of Kent, UK. Besides her books, she has published articles on political parties, identity politics, gender issues and urbanization.