Half of the salary of six employees of the Sur Municipality is paid to the wives of the employees because of domestic violence as the result of a collective labour agreement. 57 employees who send their daughters to university receive a monthly bonus of TL 100.

10 percent of the Turkish population is illiterate according to the Turkish Statistical Institute. 84 percent of this group are women. Even if the Turkish education system succeeds in time to make more people literate, this cannot close the gap between men and women.

It has been revealed that no charges have been pressed against the 34 people, who are accused of raping 17-year-old N.Y. in Van. Among the 34 people, are the relatives of AKP Deputy Orhan. Justice Minister Ergin stated that an investigation was carried out about four of the suspects, but the file was closed due to lack of evidence.

Men have killed at least 23 women in July. Six women have lost their lives suspiciously. Last month at least 20 women were injured, 18 women and children were raped, 27 people – 20 of whom were children – were victims of sexual abuse and exploitation.

Turkey cannot protect women, who take shelter in the state. Women are dying. Coordinator Hacisalihoglu of the Hurriyet Campaign to End Domestic Violence is underlining the inadequacy of capacity in institutions. "Police officials, who take women from shelters and send them back to a violent environment, should be punished,” says Lawyer Arin.

The Shadow Report presented to CEDAW by Turkish women organizations revealed deficits in the Constitution and other laws. The report demands to amend the laws according to the convention's ban of discrimination and the principle of gender equality.

The Turkish government presents their country report to CEDAW on Wednesday, while women organizations present their alternative Shadow Report to the UN committee. According to the alternative report, gender inequality and discrimination have not improved.

Feminists from Greece and Poland warned that measures to fight the economic crisis threaten women's rights. "We are not going to go back home and fall back into our traditional roles", they argued. They called their sisters in Europe for solidarity.

Women wearing a headscarf are 'invisible' in the companies they work. This is one of the findings of a study into working life of professional women wearing headscarves. The research dealt with the headscarf ban at universities and discrimination in professional life.

Filiz Karakuş, Necla Akgökçe, Yıldız Ay and Nilgün Yurdalan call for the acknowledgement of male hegemony on Labour Day.

Three women's organizations in south-eastern Turkey describe the alarming situations of women who have been exposed to severe physical or psychological violence. They point out problems with provincial Social Services regarding different approaches and co-operation.

Turkey cannot protect women who apply to institutions after they have been exposed to violence because the state does not provide safety of life. Four women became victims of violence within the last five days. Kartaler from the Mor Çatı women's shelter calls for increasing the capacity of social services.