'Withdraw the proposal, draw up a gender-sensitive, equality-based budget'

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA) - File

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The women's units of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK), Confederation of Public Employees Trade Unions (KESK), Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB) and Turkish Medical Association (TTB) expressed their requests and objections regarding the 2022 budget of the Family and Social Services Ministry.

Shared with the public amid the ongoing budget talks at the Parliamentary Commission on Planning and Budgetary yesterday (November 10), the requests of the organizations include;

• a budget that is gender-sensitive and ensures equality,
• the establishment of a Women's Ministry,
• the reversal of withdrawal from the İstanbul Convention
• the ratification of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 190 on Violence and Harassment.

In their joint statement, the women's units of the four labor and occupational organizations said, "There is no room for women in either the 2022 policies of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) or in its budget."

The organizations also recalled how Vice President Fuat Oktay introduced the 2022 budget proposal on October 15, 2021.

In his related statement, Vice President Oktay said that "concrete and dynamic policies, from healthcare to education, security to transportation, industry to economy, women's empowerment to social relief, would be put into practice one by one on the basis of the budget."

Referring to this statement, the organizations said, "However, we have seen that this budget offers nothing to women."

'Draw up a gender-sensitive, equality-based budget'

The organizations reiterated that "the 2022 budget was not gender-sensitive" and shared the following observations with the public:

"When the budget is closely observed, it is seen that the budget of the Ministry of Family and Social Services accounts for 3.7 percent of the general budget, as it was the case before (before 2018).

"85.37 percent of the budget allocated to the Ministry consists of Social Services and Child Protection Institution (SHÇEK) relief and old age pensions as per the Law no. 2022 as current transfers; 10.1 percent have been allocated to the personnel expenses and the remaining 5 percent has been defined as capital transfers and expenditures.

"When the budget items are considered, only a share has been allocated to the expenses of Women's Status Directorate General personnel."

Accordingly, women demanded that the budget be withdrawn immediately and a new budget based on equality be drawn up:

"In a period when violence against women has increased and women's poverty has been aggravated with the outbreak of the pandemic, a budget that is not aimed at gender equality is unacceptable." (KÖ/SD)