Women have found their voice in Turkey, and given hope to others fighting for democracy across the globe | Elif Shafak

Big opposition wins in last week's elections, notable for a huge rise in female representatives, reasserted the country's liberal, secular values

Turkey is a beautiful and complicated country that never ceases to bewilder not only international observers but also, at times, its own citizens. The results of local elections held last Sunday came as a surprise to many pollsters. The opposition won a spectacular victory, changing the political landscape and shifting the dominant narrative. It would be naive to assume that it signals the end of an era, but it sure feels like a new beginning.

For so long now, the opposition in Turkey has been demoralised, fractured and weak against an unbridled concentration of power and authority. The lack of checks and balances, the lack of freedom of speech, the lack of free media and the lack of the separation of powers - these all stacked the cards against anyone who dared to question the Justice and Development party (AKP) government and its religious-nationalist-populist ideology.