Women’s groups have prepared an alternative to the government’s report for the second time, saying they aim to mobilize themselves as actors in civil society in order to ensure a more objective and effective evaluation of Turkish progress on gender and women’s rights. Women’s groups participating in the CEDAW conference say they will highlight a number of persisting problems as they present their own Turkey report card at the gathering. Noting that in the past five years legislation has been changed, action planned and declarations issued, the women’s groups said in a press release this week that there remains a lack of a “cross-institutional, coordinated, holistic government policy that aims for and guarantees true equality between men and women.”
Women’s groups complain that problems are still widespread when it comes to issues of equality before the law, women’s participation in political and decision-making mechanisms, education, employment, health and media, and of course, violence against and the abuse of women. Issues of particular concern include forced and early marriages, the 20 percent illiteracy rate among Turkish women, the lack of women governors in Turkey and the shelving of legislation to change rules on equality and political participation.
The TCK Women’s Platform and CEDAW Civil Society Implementation Board together comprise 20 women’s NGOs, six influential women’s platforms active nationwide, and 135 local and other women’s organizations. The groups will participate as the Women’s Organizations Delegation to the CEDAW Reviewing Turkey session, hoping to bring women’s voices on gender issues to the gathering. Meanwhile, the government delegation will be led by the state minister responsible for women and family, Selma Aliye Kavaf, who will present the government’s report.
