Turkey Gains "0" Points on Gender Equality - Again
With their fourth performance report on the "Inequality in the Representation of Women and Men in Turkey", the Association for Support and Education for Women Candidates (KA.DER) marked the International Women's Day on 8 March.
KA.DER announced that also in 2011 the situation did not change and confirmed a "sustained inequality". Also for 2011, Turkey failed and was assessed with "zero" points as in the previous years.
According to the report, "traditional inequality" was being continued in all fields such as local governments, the parliament, the government, public institutions, professional chambers, trade unions and decision making committees of political parties.
The members of the KA.DER Steering Board emphasized that even though half of the Turkish population were female, women were hardly included in decision making mechanisms. The association stressed the need for women representatives in politics in order to change that situation and to protect women rights in Turkey.
Otherwise, Turkey would remain a country where women are being oppressed by violence against women, lack of education, poverty, unemployment and cumbersome care services, the association pointed out.
"No self-determination for women"
KA.DER recently initiated the campaign "275 Women" for an equal representation of women and men in the Turkish Parliament in respect to the nearing general elections on 12 June 2011. According to the KA.DER report issued for Turkey, the ratio of representation of women in the parliament, local governments, the judiciary, political parties and professional association reads as follows:
- Representation of Women in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) after the General Elections in 2007: 8.87 percent!
- Ratio of women mayors after the Local Elections in 2009: 0.90 percent!
- Not a single female governor in 81 provinces!
- No female members in the Court of Appeals and the Court of Auditors; one female member in the Council of State!
- Regarding political parties represented in the TBMM, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) have no female provincial chair; the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) have 22 female provincial party chairs, the Republican People's Party (CHP) have 2!
- There is not one single woman on the steering boards of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions (DİSK), the Hak Workers Trade Union Confederation (Hak-İş), the Turkish Confederation of Labour Unions (Türk-İş), the Public Workers Unions Confederation of Turkey (Kamu-Sen) and the Civil Servant Unions Confederation (Memur-Sen)!
- There is not one single woman on the steering boards of Association of Independent Industrialists and Businessmen (MÜSİAD), the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), and the Turkish Trade and Crafts Confederation (TESK)! (BB/VK)