11 minutes ago“can get worse” Women before elections in Turkey
Periskopi(3 years ago)
(3 years ago)Turkey has a long road forward to true gender equality. But depending on the outcome of the general elections in Turkey, the situation of women could deteriorate further. “Turkey's women's rights are increasingly violated. [...]
Turkey has a long road forward to true gender equality. But depending on the outcome of the general elections in Turkey, the situation of women could deteriorate further.
“Turkey's women's rights are increasingly violated. Turkey first gave up the Istanbul Convention for protecting women from violence. But now developments in the direction of the woman's situation could deteriorate further, it's the opinion, left-oriented politician Menex Kizidere referring to the upcoming elections. Rightist parties supporting Erdogan in these elections want to abolish the 6284 law, considered one of the most important laws left for protecting women from violence. “This is their election promise to abolish this law, so far they go”, says Kizidere. Alarmed is the former head of the party, HDP Selaattin Demirtas, who also suffered an arrest by Turkish authorities. He appoints Erdogan's election alliance with the party considered Islamist, Hüda as the “alance of the Taliban”, and asks: “would resemble the Republic of Turkey in its second century an Afghanistan or a Swiss?”
Turkey is far from Switzerland
But from Switzerland and the rights and freedoms of this country, we are far away, says Aslan, who votes for the first time. Erdogan does not tolerate minority and women's rights. How Erdogan and his allies view freedoms and rights in Turkey make it clear, his Interior Minister Soylu, who criminalizes the LGBT scene, presents its members almost as terrorists, bans demonstrations right on Women's Day, or gives unproportionally to violence in the protests. Freedoms are especially for men, says 60-year-old Semran. Women, they say otherwise are always second. We are nowhere equal in society, home or street. He has a dominant man. ”
A recent study of the Social Democrat foundation, SODEV, with the support of the German foundation Friedrich Ebert confirms this. The main resolution was, that most women do not feel well in their country”, says research director Yasemin Ahi for the ARD studio in Istanbul. 60% of women surveyed say, they are not happy as women in Turkey. But more than 80% of women don't feel safe at night on the street. As important problems, they cite sexual harassment and violence against women. But often the perpetrators of these acts receive mild sentences or are not punished at all. For Yasem Ahi this is a failure of politics. “The unwillingness of offenders is an issue that can only be regulated politically. ”
Women could return to danger for Erdogan in elections
But Turkish parties do not take much in this direction. Neither does the opposition alliance have the return to the Istanbul Convention on schedule, due to conservative forces within the alliance. According to experts, however, it may be women who can vote on Erdogan. Jasemin Ahi says that “in 2018 was 38.3 of the women voters who gave Erdogan the vote, whereas if only 26% of them were now voted in for Erdogan”. Women are half of Turkish society. Their vote could be crucial to the outcome of the general elections in Turkey. And their expectations of politics have increased in recent years, Ahi says. However, under the heel they no longer want to stay. / DW
