The Quiet Woman

In De Stille Vrouw, Dilan Yurdakul gives a voice her grandmothers, the first generation of migrant women. A generation that left their homeland behind versus a generation born in the Netherlands. Dilan wonders what she still carries inside of these women, and what she will pass on. She collects their stories to bring to life the voices of these unheard women. Stories of the past, of the silence, the sacrifices, the spiritual suffering, the waiting, the suffering, the emptiness. What were their dreams, their desires? Were they able to spread their wings? Dilan wants to know what was gained and what was lost, as well as what quietly worked on in the women's lineage.

Because Dilan also runs up against her role as a woman. What choices does she make as a thirty-something, is she ready for motherhood and how much of a woman is she really? Although a great deal has changed over the decades, the subcutaneous, unspoken pains have not been resolved and she discovers that in addition to the differences, there are also many similarities of history carried in silence. For that which is not resolved is passed on.