Human rights and women in Turkey

The violation of human rights in Turkey is really serious at this time and the situation has distant origins. Already in 2017, the UN Commission had produced a negative report on this issue in Turkey.

Amnesty International's 2019-2020 Report denounces a serious violation of human rights throughout Turkey: thousands of people were remanded in custody for periods of punitive detention, often in the absence of substantial evidence of any crime recognised by international law. The social, economic and cultural condition of women is severely disrupted, the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly have been severely restricted, and people considered critical of the current government, in particular journalists, political activists and human rights defenders, have been detained or face invented criminal charges. The authorities continued to arbitrarily ban demonstrations and to use excessive and unnecessary force to disperse peaceful demonstrators, as well as reports of torture and enforced disappearance, and Turkey forcibly rejected Syrian refugees, although it continued to host more refugees than any other country in the world.

The figure of women in the Turkish world is particularly important. The media close to the Turkish regime deliver the image of a happy and modern woman, on an equal footing with men in various areas of life, with civil rights and freedoms in society. In fact, however, there seems to be a different hidden reality and a huge gap between the sexes. Although the Turkish constitution contains an article in it under which the state undertakes to ensure a certain equality for all, the gender gap continues to be very large, given that the majority of women in Turkey receive a lower wage than men, given that the work they do is modest and half paid. Women have limited opportunities to reach decision-making positions, in addition to the fact that they bear the burden of household and family responsibilities. It was only at the beginning of the new century that women achieved a certain equality with men in terms of rights by acquiring the right to make decisions in the field of home and child management on an equal footing with men, fair distribution of assets in the event of divorce and employment without having to ask permission. Unfortunately, most of these rights have not been effectively reflected in practice, since, according to data issued in December 2019 by the Turkish Statistical Office, the average female labour force participation does not exceed 33%, where the male average reaches 71%.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) reveals that Turkey is the country that offers the least guarantees of fairness, as an employed mother has a 30% lower salary than other employed women, since motherhood involves complete career breaks.

Women's rights activist organisations have reported that violence against women has increased exponentially in the years when the Justice and Development Party came to power. 40% of Turkish women suffer physical violence and about 300-400 women die as a result of it every year. In the summer of 2020, there were a series of protests, both in the streets of the country and on social networks, after the murder of Pinar Gultekin, a student strangled by her ex-boyfriend. The young girl was strangled to death and her body was first burned and then thrown into a dumpster. The murder was committed by her ex-boyfriend, a 32-year-old man with whom she had broken up after discovering he was married. This is yet another case of feminicide: in Turkey, in 2019, there were 474 cases of feminicide and women's associations, such as the platform "We will stop the feminicide" (Kadin Cinayetlerini Durduracagiz, KCD), speak of "foretold tragedy". According to the KCDP platform, 474 women have been killed so far at the hands of men in 2019, exceeding the 337 killed in 2018. The numbers are constantly increasing, with 347 women killed in 2017 compared to 279 in 2016 and 293 in 2015.

The seriousness of the situation in Turkey was also highlighted by a study prepared by the UN in 2009 according to which 42% of Turkish women between the ages of 15 and 60 have suffered some form of physical or psychological violence from their partner. The situation has not improved in recent years and especially during the lockdown period imposed by the Government to deal with the coronavirus emergency: as reported by "We will stop feminicide", 21 women were killed in just three weeks and the final figures for 2020 are expected to show a drastic increase in feminicides in the country. In the city of Istanbul alone, there was a 38 % increase in domestic violence reports in March, reaching 2493 cases compared to 1804 cases in March 2019.

Feminicides and more generally the strong disparities existing in Turkish society on the basis of gender derive from a purely patriarchal and masculine culture that the political class itself continues to support. In 2011 Turkey signed the Istanbul Convention, an international agreement promoted by the Council of Europe, on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, but many conservative politicians have criticised this accession from the outset, calling European laws a threat to family values. What is lacking in Turkey but also in other parts of the world is the correct implementation of laws because both law enforcement agencies and judges do not respond adequately to women's requests for help and cases of men who receive a reduced sentence because they simulate respectful behaviour before the Court are so numerous that a special term has been coined for them: "the reduction of the tie" and this is also the case for those who claim to have acted in a moment of anger caused by incorrect behaviour on the part of the woman.

However, the example provided by the country's most influential politicians confirms the idea that women are inferior to men, justifying both their physical and psychological repression and condemning them to the role of mothers and housewives. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated on several occasions that Turkish families (i.e. women) should have at least three children, while other politicians have repeatedly criticized those who have never had children and called mothers who work even during maternity "half people". In addition, Erdogan said that "gender equality is against human nature".

Every year the situation for women gets worse, and government proposals such as the reintroduction of reparatory marriage aggravate the situation. The proposal provides that those accused of sexual violence against a minor can avoid prison by marrying their own victim if the latter is under 18 years of age and if the difference in age between the two does not exceed 10 years. The bill has not yet been approved thanks to popular protests and criticism from the international community, but the very existence of the law and its introduction into the legal system clearly demonstrates the Government's position towards the protection of women and children.

Translated by Francesca Cioffi

Original version by Valeriana Savino

Sources:

The violation of human rights in Turkey is really serious at this time and the situation has distant origins. Already in 2017, the UN Commission had produced a negative report on this issue in Turkey.

Amnesty International's 2019-2020 Report denounces a serious violation of human rights throughout Turkey: thousands of people were remanded in custody for periods of punitive detention, often in the absence of substantial evidence of any crime recognised by international law. The social, economic and cultural condition of women is severely disrupted, the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly have been severely restricted, and people considered critical of the current government, in particular journalists, political activists and human rights defenders, have been detained or face invented criminal charges. The authorities continued to arbitrarily ban demonstrations and to use excessive and unnecessary force to disperse peaceful demonstrators, as well as reports of torture and enforced disappearance, and Turkey forcibly rejected Syrian refugees, although it continued to host more refugees than any other country in the world.

The figure of women in the Turkish world is particularly important. The media close to the Turkish regime deliver the image of a happy and modern woman, on an equal footing with men in various areas of life, with civil rights and freedoms in society. In fact, however, there seems to be a different hidden reality and a huge gap between the sexes. Although the Turkish constitution contains an article in it under which the state undertakes to ensure a certain equality for all, the gender gap continues to be very large, given that the majority of women in Turkey receive a lower wage than men, given that the work they do is modest and half paid. Women have limited opportunities to reach decision-making positions, in addition to the fact that they bear the burden of household and family responsibilities. It was only at the beginning of the new century that women achieved a certain equality with men in terms of rights by acquiring the right to make decisions in the field of home and child management on an equal footing with men, fair distribution of assets in the event of divorce and employment without having to ask permission. Unfortunately, most of these rights have not been effectively reflected in practice, since, according to data issued in December 2019 by the Turkish Statistical Office, the average female labour force participation does not exceed 33%, where the male average reaches 71%.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) reveals that Turkey is the country that offers the least guarantees of fairness, as an employed mother has a 30% lower salary than other employed women, since motherhood involves complete career breaks.

Women's rights activist organisations have reported that violence against women has increased exponentially in the years when the Justice and Development Party came to power. 40% of Turkish women suffer physical violence and about 300-400 women die as a result of it every year. In the summer of 2020, there were a series of protests, both in the streets of the country and on social networks, after the murder of Pinar Gultekin, a student strangled by her ex-boyfriend. The young girl was strangled to death and her body was first burned and then thrown into a dumpster. The murder was committed by her ex-boyfriend, a 32-year-old man with whom she had broken up after discovering he was married. This is yet another case of feminicide: in Turkey, in 2019, there were 474 cases of feminicide and women's associations, such as the platform "We will stop the feminicide" (Kadin Cinayetlerini Durduracagiz, KCD), speak of "foretold tragedy". According to the KCDP platform, 474 women have been killed so far at the hands of men in 2019, exceeding the 337 killed in 2018. The numbers are constantly increasing, with 347 women killed in 2017 compared to 279 in 2016 and 293 in 2015.

The seriousness of the situation in Turkey was also highlighted by a study prepared by the UN in 2009 according to which 42% of Turkish women between the ages of 15 and 60 have suffered some form of physical or psychological violence from their partner. The situation has not improved in recent years and especially during the lockdown period imposed by the Government to deal with the coronavirus emergency: as reported by "We will stop feminicide", 21 women were killed in just three weeks and the final figures for 2020 are expected to show a drastic increase in feminicides in the country. In the city of Istanbul alone, there was a 38 % increase in domestic violence reports in March, reaching 2493 cases compared to 1804 cases in March 2019.

Feminicides and more generally the strong disparities existing in Turkish society on the basis of gender derive from a purely patriarchal and masculine culture that the political class itself continues to support. In 2011 Turkey signed the Istanbul Convention, an international agreement promoted by the Council of Europe, on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, but many conservative politicians have criticised this accession from the outset, calling European laws a threat to family values. What is lacking in Turkey but also in other parts of the world is the correct implementation of laws because both law enforcement agencies and judges do not respond adequately to women's requests for help and cases of men who receive a reduced sentence because they simulate respectful behaviour before the Court are so numerous that a special term has been coined for them: "the reduction of the tie" and this is also the case for those who claim to have acted in a moment of anger caused by incorrect behaviour on the part of the woman.

However, the example provided by the country's most influential politicians confirms the idea that women are inferior to men, justifying both their physical and psychological repression and condemning them to the role of mothers and housewives. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated on several occasions that Turkish families (i.e. women) should have at least three children, while other politicians have repeatedly criticized those who have never had children and called mothers who work even during maternity "half people". In addition, Erdogan said that "gender equality is against human nature".

Every year the situation for women gets worse, and government proposals such as the reintroduction of reparatory marriage aggravate the situation. The proposal provides that those accused of sexual violence against a minor can avoid prison by marrying their own victim if the latter is under 18 years of age and if the difference in age between the two does not exceed 10 years. The bill has not yet been approved thanks to popular protests and criticism from the international community, but the very existence of the law and its introduction into the legal system clearly demonstrates the Government's position towards the protection of women and children.

By Valeriana Savino