ASSOCIATION FOR SUPPORTING OF WOMEN CANDIDATES
‘Not a Single Woman MP Elected in 20 Provinces All Though Republican Era’
Click to read the article in Turkish
Adıyaman, Ardahan, Artvin, Bayburt, Burdur, Erzincan, Giresun, Gümüşhane, Karabük, Karaman, Kilis, Kırıkkale, Kırklareli, Kırşehir Nevşehir, Niğde, Osmaniye, Rize, Sinop, Yozgat.
What these provinces have in common is that not a single woman has been elected an MP in these provinces all through the 96-year Republican era.
This information has been shared by the Association for Supporting of Women Candidates (KA.DER) in its statement for the press entitled "We want an equal distribution in the next election!".
Analyzing the distribution of MPs by gender since 1934, when women of Turkey were granted the right to vote and be elected, the KA.DER has announced that the rate of women MPs is 5.25 percent.
The research of the KA.DER has also put forward that not a single woman MP has been elected in 20 provinces of Turkey. Referring to this finding as "unacceptable" while they are struggling for equal representation of women in all fields, the Association has made a call to all political parties to start working sincerely and organizedly to realize equal distribution.
598 women MPs in 23 general elections
Since 1934, when women were entitled the right to vote and be elected, 23 general elections have been held in Turkey. In all of these elections, 11,385 MPs entered the Parliament. However, only 598 of them were women.
In other words, boasting about granting women the right to vote and be elected earlier than most western countries, Turkey's rate of women MPs is only 5.25 percent. The research of the association has also shown that the highest rate of women MPs maintained by Turkey so far is 17.8 percent.
'Only 102 of 589 MPs are women'
According to the KA.DER, when the last general election on June 24, 2018 and the last local elections on June 23, 2019 are considered, the political parties fared badly in terms of right to equal representation of women, for which women organizations have been struggling for years.
The Association has added that, let alone the demands of women, the political parties could not even fulfil their own pledges and did not actualize what they wrote in their party programs, statutes and election manifestos.
There are currently 589 MPs in the Parliament and only 102 of these MPs are women, accounting for 17.32 percent of all MPs.
In the last local elections, there were 8,257 mayor candidatesand only 652 of them, or 7.89 percent, were women. In the wake of local elections in 2019, only 43 women have been elected as mayors for 1,389 municipalities.
About the KA.DERKA.DER is a women's organization which advocates equal representation of women and men in all fields of life. KA.DER sees equality between women and men in all elected and appointed decision making bodies, where decisions concerning the society and the individuals are made, as a matter of democracy. KA.DER was established in March 1997 with a mission to eliminate inequality, to provide participation of all citizens in decisions, and to bring women's experience and resolution ability into social and political arenas. KA.DER strives to increase the representation rate of women in all decision making bodies, both elected and appointed. Considering the political arena's determinative feature on social life, KA.DER defines ensuring equal representation, primarily in politics, as its main objective. Equal representation ensured in the political field will pave the way for equality between women and men in all fields. KA.DER has 4 branches and 4 representations across the country. KA.DER head office is located in Istanbul. Click here for detailed information |
(EMK/SD)