Kurdish Women Deputies of Turkey Move Against The Polygamy Law In Northern Iraq

Sebahat Tuncel, a woman parliamentarian for the Democratic Society Party (DTP) , told bianet about the discussions in the Kurdistan Regional Administration Parliament regarding the law allowing polygamy.

“We told the speaker of the Parliament, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Interior that we saw the law for polygamy as violence against the women during our visit to Northern Iraq.”

However, the parliamentarians told them in return that there was a misunderstanding.

“They said ‘In fact we are restricting the law on polygamy left from the Saddam era. We are making polygamy more difficult’. For example, this new law conditions the second marriage on the permission given by the first wife. If the first wife cannot conduct her wifely duties and if this can be proven, only then a second marriage will be allowed.”

Tuncel criticized the Parliament in following terms:

“Even though it may be true that the new arrangement may make life easier for the women, it still legalizes the polygamy.”

“Because of the effect of the religious norms, they cannot attempt to change the whole law, but even this change is a men’s point of view. The law passed without getting the opinion of the women and with very little margin.”

She said the campaigns to repel the new law will continue.

“He should first criticize the male politics”

When Köksal Toptan, speaker for the Turkish Parliament, told the women of the DTP that they should pay more attention to the Turkish Parliament rather than the one in the Northern Iraq, Tuncel’s answer was that the women’s problem was above the political parties and the countries. She continued by adding that they had already submitted a proposal for man-woman equality and  another one to impose 40 percent woman quota on the political parties; if he is serious then he should concern himself with our demands."

“We take action both for the woman raped in Istanbul or the woman stoned to death for adultery in Iran.  But this is not enough. For this is not simply women's problem, the source of this politics is the male mentality. Therefore, they should start looking at themselves first.” (EZÖ/TK)