Türkiye

Polling shows that most Turks want more women involved in politics, but their underrepresentation continues.

Istanbul, Turkey – A nondescript apartment in Istanbul’s business district is the nerve centre of a drive to propel more women into Turkish politics.

Nongovernmental organizations and activists struggling for equal representation of women in politics and social life have criticized the low number of women on political parties’ parliamentary candidate lists, describing it as “dishonorable.”

There are over 50,000 mukhtars in the country. Despite a slight increase in the share of women mukhtars over the past few years, women’s groups call for more representation at the local level.

Women make up only about 2.2 percent of the mukhtars, or neighborhood and village heads, in Türkiye, according to data from the Global Equality and Inclusion Network Association.

Dispute over protocol prompts charges of sexism at meeting in Ankara

Turkey and Europe are trading blame over who left the European Commission chief on her feet, in a spat over protocol that has prompted charges of sexism and overshadowed a critical meeting.

Purple Map shows women centers, day care centers and gender responsive municipal services of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality.

UN Women launched a gender responsive interactive tool called the Purple Map for the women of Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. The map, which is an easy to use guide that shows women centers, day care centers and gender responsive municipal services of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, aims to make the city safer for women.

Women in Turkish politics along with the wives and daughters of politicians have become targets of sexist attacks on social media over the past couple of weeks. Although women in politics tend to receive backlash based on their gender rather than their actions, especially on social media, the recent intensity of such incidents with repeated attacks on women from different political movements has raised concerns in the country regarding toxic masculinity – to the point of regulations being placed on social media to curb the onslaught.

Women in Turkey are not adequately represented in the Turkish political system and civil society associations should impose pressure to secure at least a one third quota through an amendment of the Law on the Political Parties, the leader of the main opposition party has said.