Türkiye

Dec. 5 was the 79th anniversary of the day Turkish women were granted the right to vote and to be elected. 

The confusion in the domestic and external agenda caused this gain to be celebrated less than it deserved. 

As the deadline for the finalization of Turkey's local election electoral lists draws closer, an association of women's groups has launched a campaign to entice political party leaders to nominate more women as candidates in 2014 elections.

Female lawmakers will now be able to enter the General Assembly meetings wearing trousers, after a controversial prohibition was lifted in the sequel to the removal of the ban on headscarves.
 
The debate about the ban on trousers was brought forward by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Şafak Pavey, who had been forced to wear skirts despite having a prosthetic leg.

On Sept. 11, a story broke about a female student taken into custody at one of the most prestigious universities of Turkey, Middle East Technical University (METU). Ezgi Ozen and her friends were protesting a government road project that may destroy 3,000 trees on the METU campus and nearby neighborhoods. Another protester was able to shoot a video of Ozen being handcuffed and escorted to police vehicles. The video shows an officer yelling, “If she resists, her arm will be broken.” Unarmed and relatively small, could Ozen really have “resisted” the police?

2023 will mark the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic. The symbolism of this date has led to 2023 being set as the “deadline” for many financial, political, and social targets. However, any growth needs to be social for it to be sustainable.

The fundamental question is how to prevent, prosecute, and eliminate violence against women. As long as violence against women is widespread and accepted, there can be no genuine mention of gender equality.