Inequality, violence hot issues on International Women’s Day

The number of women holding seats in Parliament also low while the numbers are even lower in terms of municipal seats. The 2007 general elections saw women win 9.1 percent of seats in Parliament, and only 27 of 2,948 mayoral posts -- 0.9 percent -- are held by women.

Turkey came in 101st on a list of 109 countries on the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), which is calculated according to women's participation in economic and political life in their countries. Turkey is followed by Tonga, Iran, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bangladesh and Yemen.

While pointing out that women are oppressed socially, Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) Professor Mehmet Ecevit said at an Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO) meeting yesterday that the situation stems from hierarchical and male-dominated relationships. Highlighting that women are not seen as equal with men from the time of their birth, Ecevit said women cannot be free unless unequal relationships change, noting that social privileges must be given to women, including quotas for women in Parliament. The UN Turkey report also revealed that more than 9 percent of Turkish women are illiterate.

Scientific research carried out at a number of universities also supports the UN Turkey report on violence against women in Turkey while revealing that a noticeable part of women exposed to violence put the blame on themselves.

Research conducted by Erciyes University in Kayseri involving 355 women revealed that 52.1 percent responded that there are situations in which women deserve violence. A total of 49.9 percent of the women surveyed said they were exposed to violence and 38.6 said they were guilty. Furthermore, 46.1 percent of the women said they would do nothing and accept the situation if they were subjected to violence.

Members of the March 8 Women's Platform celebrated International Women's Day in Ankara.

A study conducted by Sivas’s Cumhuriyet University involving 591 married women found that 48.1 percent of the women are at risk of psychological disorders.

Research by Gülşah Deniz and Serap Selver Babacan, both of whom are affiliated with the Fethiye State Hospital in Muğla, showed that 42 percent of women are exposed to physical domestic violence while 68.7 stay married for the sake of their children. Also, 58 percent of the respondents say the marriage should continue if the violence does not amount to torture.

A study on domestic violence toward women carried out in Denizli province discovered that 43 percent of women who are exposed to violence suffer from violent incidents once a week while 29 percent are subject to violence every day.

Research involving female members of the Altı Nokta Association for the Blind revealed that disabled women are also victims of domestic violence. A total of 11.7 percent of disabled women who are members of the association were found to have been subjected to violence at the hands of their husbands or other family members.

‘A woman’s place is in the home’

A survey conducted by Reuters/Ipsos of 24,000 adults, aged between 18 and 34, in 23 countries and released on the eve of International Women’s Day showed that people from India, Turkey, Japan, Chine, Russia, Hungary and South Korea were most likely to agree that women should not work. In the survey, conducted between November 2009 and January, 52 percent of Turkish respondents agreed that “a woman’s place is in the home.”

However, the majority, 74 percent, of those polled believe a woman’s place is certainly not at home. “Over the past century, women, collectively, have made great gains not only in terms of societal participation -- from politics to the workplace to sports and the media and to intellectual pursuit -- but there are still barriers to many,” said John Wright, senior vice president of market research company Ipsos.

Women’s place in Turkish workforce

While noting that women face serious problems in both entering and holding positions in the business world, the UN Turkey report also revealed that a majority of Turkish women are employed in jobs that pay less and offer no health insurance. In Turkey, only about 25 percent of the labor force is composed of women, which is far below the global average of 52.6 percent. Seventy percent of women in rural Turkey work in their houses as free laborers.

It is very important for women, who comprise half of the population in Turkey, to participate in the labor force in the country in order for Turkey to have an internationally competitive economy, Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO) President Nuri Özdebir said yesterday. Speaking at a meeting held at the ASO headquarters in Ankara, Özdebir also noted that women do not sufficiently take part in the country’s economic, social and political life.

“As agricultural employment drastically fell, women employment decreased accordingly. Women who work in this sector cannot participate in the workforce when they are not involved in agriculture or migrate to the city,” Özdebir said, noting that women must be transferred to other sectors.

Marking International Women’s Day, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said at a summit held by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) women’s branch in the party headquarters in Ankara that the burden on women is heavier than that felt by men. He said women are the first targets in terrorist attacks, as they lose their husbands or children and are the first to be laid off when an economic crisis hits.