Gender Equality Commission in Parliament After 10 Years of Women's Struggle

Establishment of a Gender Equality commission will be voted at the parliament. Pınar İlkkaracan of Women for Women's Rights-New Ways Association talks to Republican People's Party (CHP) MP Gaye Erbatur –one of the few women MP's struggling for rights- about the process.

Establishment of an equality commission in parliament is a result of ten years of struggle and a historic moment. The fist motion for the commission dates back several years, isn't it?

The process began in 1998. Oya arasli and Bilgen Keles introduced a motion for a Gender Equality Inquiry Commission. That commission worked for three months and revealed the inequalities in Turkey in a report, published by the Deractorate General on the Statue of Women (KSGM). I was in that report, a permanent parliamentary commission on gender equality was proposed. Only after ten years that proposal is realizing.

A harsh struggle was given in the parliament during those years.

Women's rights movement had voiced this demand on many occasions. For example, it was included in a shadow report presented to the UN Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 2005 and the Committee's recommendations to the government echoed this demand. But the issue has not made it to the parliaments agenda until today.  In the mean time, European Parliament's rapporteur on the statue of women in Turkey, Emine Bozkurt mentioned the demand in all her reports. Women MP's introduced several motions and lastly, following The Association for the Support and Education of Women Candidates' (Ka-Der) efforts to bring together all women MPs, Nimet Cubukcu and colleagues in AKP filed a motion last year. All in all, all parties except the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) worked to that end.

So how did it succeeded this time, after all those efforts?

On January 22nd, the new head negotiator in EU accession negations Egemen Bagis made a presentation regarding the National Programme. The part regarding women's rights was inadequate in that presentation.  There was no concrete plan involving sanctions. I addressed the group and told them that the chapter on social policies can be opened; the EU directives on gender equality are acquis communautaire for Turkey and they should be followed. What was said has been said for years and no concrete result have been achieved. I emphasized that we are encountering problems regarding jurisdiction and a commission with the power to oversee these problems would have the power to solve them, simultaneously coordinating suggestions to other commissions.

What reaction did you get?

EU Secretary General told that they also thought about this and they were enlightened by my speech. Bagıs conceded. He was persuaded. As a result, the motion came to the constituonal commission on January 28th. The draft wasn't all we wanted; so all women's groups came together and put up a draft. When the day came, there was an unseen solidarity among women MPs. It was incredible. Women MPs crowded the commission room. This was the result of the women's movement lobbying. There was political will, at last.(Pİ/EÖ/AGÜ)