TURKEY: Women Still Fighting for Rights, Representation in Turkey

A convention was held at the Istanbul Congress Center on Friday to evaluate the degree to which the internationally recognized Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, or CEDAW, has improved over the last 30 years.

The Istanbul International Women's Meeting was convened on Friday, following recent revelations that women still constitute 70 percent of the world's poor. “Even though it has been a long time since the terms “women” and “development” were first internationally debated, United Nations statistics demonstrate that the world is far from being a developed place for women,” Güldal Akşit, the Turkish Parliamentary Equal Opportunity Commission head said at the convention.

According to such statistics, in total women earn less than 10 percent of the world's income and own less than one percent of the world's properties. And while two thirds of the world's illiterate population is female one in three women are victims of domestic violence.

While the figures indicate that many women's basic human rights are routinely abused, they also suggest that women do not generally have a voice in daily life and are not properly legally represented in issues such as equality in education, employment, migration, land, property, accommodation, food, and reproduction.

Equality doesn't mean being the same as the opposite sex, but means that one gender cannot be superior to the other gender because of some innate traits, Akşit said, adding that equality of opportunity existed in having equal rights and responsibilities and being equal with men in all of life's fields. Women should not be discriminated against in receiving opportunities, resources and rights, since the reverse negatively influences countries' development processes, she said.

A CEDAW branch was formally implemented in Turkey on Jan. 19, 1986 and so far six reports have been presented to the international community. Since then, social gender equality has been reconsidered and some alterations were made to the Turkish penal code, the Turkish civil code and the Turkish employment code in favor of women's rights, Akşit said.

“Thanks to the alteration made to the constitution's 10th and 41st articles, the principle of male and female equality was strengthened,” said Akşit.

Education is a right

Women's education was another issue that occupied the agenda of the convention. Director of UNESCO's Division for Gender Equality Saniye Gülser Corat said women should be educated in order to learn their rights. In the year 2066 women will be equal with men, she said.

“Even though, the number of female students is high in primary education, the number descends when they are about to start their middle school education,” Corat said, adding that a budget of $16 billion is needed to send every children to school.

CEDAW, acknowledged by 186 countries around the world, aims to protect the universal rights of women to education, health, property and dignity. Nevertheless, there are still some obstacles in its application. Naela Gabr, the committee head of CEDAW, said political willpower carries special significance and it is through willpower greater differences will be made.

“In situations where political willpower lacks, there are legislations. Yet success cannot be sustained in application,” she said.

The government's need for civil society was another theme Gabr highlighted. Emphasizing CEDAW's wish to cooperate with organizations that advocate for women's rights, Gabr said she always recommended that CEDAW collaborate with regional groups because it is crucial for economic, social and cultural dimensions. “Civil society should be considered and legislators should be included in the process,” said Gabr.