Women Calling for Withdrawal of Law Draft Allowing Muftis to Perform Marriage

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Women were on the streets in İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir and Trabzon to protest the Law on Population Registration that grants the muftis the authority to perform official marriage, paves the way for the birth record to be done with oral statement instead of written document, and implements the criteria of “public morality” in becoming citizen via marriage yesterday (October 5).

The law draft was discussed at the Parliamentary Committee on Internal Affairs and it was sent to the sub-commission upon objections raised by the women MPs of opposition parties. The sub-commission approved the draft and sent it back to the Committee on Internal Affairs.

Launching a campaign with the “These laws cannot pass as they are”, the women’s organizations staged demonstrations against the draft in many cities.

Rallying in Khalkedon Square in Kadiköy district in İstanbul, the women said, “We are witnessing that the state is handing over its social service field, field of education, social policies which have to be include the whole society, to a religious institution. These laws cannot pass in the parliament as they are”.

The statement read out briefly said:

“We are sick and tired of unequal laws and unequal life. The office of mufti that tries to prevent divorce as women are murdered every day, that doesn’t base equality of men and women provide “family therapy” service to women who “have problems”.

“It runs training activities on subjects such as domestic violence, raising children, house economy; it provides consultancy at women’s shelters and children’s shelters without receiving any training.

“And now, they will officially marry off women!” (ÇT/TK)