NEED FOR POLITICAL WILL AND REAL COMMITMENT TO CHANGE ATTITUDES TOWARDS WOMEN IN MODERN TURKEY STRESSED BY EXPERTS
Press Release
WOM/936
NEED FOR POLITICAL WILL AND REAL COMMITMENT TO CHANGE ATTITUDES TOWARDS WOMEN IN MODERN TURKEY STRESSED BY EXPERTS
19970117 As Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women Continues Consideration of Turkey's Report; Delegation Says 'Democracy Has Its Price'Political will and a real commitment to integrated national strategies were needed to change deeply ingrained attitudes and values that determined the status of women in modern Turkey, experts told the body that monitors the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women this afternoon. Despite legislation to promote equality, women were expected to obey their husbands, boys were educated before girls and domestic violence was endemic.
The experts were responding to Turkey's second and third periodic reports which were presented to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this morning. They said that female stereotypes seemed to be a major factor in the high rates of domestic violence and illiteracy, particularly in rural areas. However, women themselves were trapped by traditional thinking and must be targeted by coordinated advocacy programmes which addressed their real concerns.
The Government must make a systematic effort to lift the majority of women out of marginalized jobs and give them real educational and social opportunities, one expert said. Another expert said despite the national plan of action, there seemed to be a lack of specific goals, realistic targets and timetables to implement the commitments made at the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995).
One expert asked what influence hardline anti-democratic Islamic elements had within certain institutions, such as the army, and what strategy the Government had for dealing with them. Today, women's status was a "political game and part of a power struggle", and Turkey was at the forefront of the struggle. Turkish women in positions of power had to take the opportunity to promote women's advancement, she stressed.
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Questions were also raised about efforts to close legalized brothels. It appeared Turkish society was more interested in protecting itself morally and medically from prostitutes than in protecting their rights, one expert said.
Responding to the experts comments, Yakin Ertuk, Sociology Professor and representative of Turkey, said that what seemed to be a retreat from the tradition of women's equality was attributable to two factors. First, democracy had its price and it was not possible to mobilize as rapidly as might be wished. But there had been progress, and Turkey's considerable middle class had become new actors in the political arena.
The second source of difficulty could be attributed to the belief that rights were not given, they were taken, she said. And not all women were in an equal position to take advantage of the rights originally granted.
The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Monday, 20 January, to hear Morocco's response to experts questions and comments.
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Committee Work Programme
The monitoring body for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women met this afternoon to conclude its general comments and questions on the combined second and third periodic reports of Turkey on that country's implementation of the treaty (document CEDAW/C/TUR/2-3).
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, made up of experts who serve in their personal capacity, is charged with monitoring the implementation of the Convention. The Convention -- adopted by the General Assembly in 1979, opened for signature in March 1980, and entered into force in 1981 -- has been ratified by 154 countries. It requires States parties to eliminate discrimination against women in the enjoyment of all civil, political, economic and cultural rights. In pursuing the Convention's goals, States parties are encouraged to introduce affirmative action measures designed to promote equality between women and men.
Turkey, a democracy whose population of nearly 70 million is 99 per cent Muslim, is the only Islamic country that is a secular State. It ratified the Convention in 1985, and now ranks 45 out of 130 countries on the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Index on matters related to gender. One of the priorities of contemporary Turkish women's movement is to address their underrepresentation in politics. A draft law is being developed to remove inequities in the family law sections of the Civil Code so Turkey can lift its reservations to the Convention.
The report details ways in which the Convention has been implemented in national laws. It also examines efforts to increase opportunities in the field of education, since the female illiteracy rate is over 30.07 per cent and just over 10.01 per cent for males. Maternal and infant mortality rates are also high in comparison to those of developed countries. Serious problems of domestic violence and access to social services were particularly acute for rural women. (For a summary of the report of Turkey, see Press Release WOM/935, issued today.)
Following the morning introduction of the report, the delegation of Turkey delivered a detailed response to a series of questions submitted by the experts prior to the current session. They focused on the country's commitment to implement the Beijing Platform for Action. The Government had committed itself to changing some of the gender-biased provisions in Turkish legislation and to removing the reservations from the Convention. It had also implemented a programme to increase compulsory education from five to eight years, eradicate illiteracy, and reduce infant and maternal mortality rates by half, all by the year 2000.
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General Comments and Questions
An expert said she understood the competing and conflicting demands of different social and cultural groups, but the Government must follow the legislation of human rights instruments. Given the religious leaning of one of the parties to the current coalition, was the separation of church and State threatened? she asked.
Noting the gap in the situation of educated urban women and poor rural women who had migrated to the cities and would be subject to the dictates of their husbands, she questioned what the Government was doing to help the later group and how responsive it was to their needs. A systematic effort to pull women out of their marginalization and inequities seemed to be missing. There was a lack of specific goals and targets with timetables to implement the commitments made in Beijing. Had the Platform for Action been adopted by the Cabinet and discussed in Parliament? she asked.
Another expert said she was struck by the many references to the number of failures to comply with the Convention. She concurred with the previous speaker that goals and timetables were needed to implement the provisions of the Convention that had greater weight than the Beijing Platform. There was not much information in the report on efforts to translate and disseminate the Convention, as well as to enact its provisions.
An expert said that some of the national machinery was very good, but there seemed to be a lack of real continuity either because of a lack of political will or real support in following through with efforts to implement strategies. For example, in 1995 a large meeting on changing media portrayals of women had not been followed up with any coordinated action. The new women's secretariat would be stronger if it was established by law rather than by decree as planned.
What influence did hardline Islamic elements, which were anti-democratic and had a negative approach to women's equality, have within certain institutions such as the army and the ministry of the interior? an expert asked. She stressed that no legal reform had been undertaken since the Convention had been ratified in 1985, and the reservations had not been removed. Despite legislation to promote equality, in reality, ingrained attitudes and habits determined the status of women in Turkey. Husbands were still regarded as the heads of households, girls were sometimes expelled from schools and women from employment. Violence against women was still endemic.
She cited the proliferation of Islamic schools which, according to the report, might reinforce traditional female roles and not equip girls for employment in modern social institutions. Traditions and culture could not be used to justify retrograde attitudes, the expert stressed, and asked what plan and strategy the Government had for dealing with the fundamentalist approach
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which was gaining ground in the country. Today, women's status was a "political game and part of a power struggle", and Turkey was at the forefront of the struggle. Turkish women who held exceptional positions had to take the opportunity to promote women's advancement, she added.
An expert asked about the timetable for instituting educational programmes and expressed concern at the high levels of domestic violence. Acknowledging the difficulties in changing social practices which were deeply rooted, nevertheless, she said, attention must be given to working strategies which focused on certain sections of society. Was the national plan of action really an integrated government strategy implemented at the highest levels or just some piecemeal effort by various government ministries? How was the plan implemented for various minority groups? What was the situation of minority women and were there any programmes for them? she asked.
The greatest concern of women living under Shariah law were issues related to divorce, inheritance and polygamous unions, an expert said, adding that she was surprised that even in a secular State, such as Turkey, most of the reservations to the Convention were close to Islamic law and some were not even in conformity with the country's own Constitution. Citing Turkey's law on separation of property in marriage, she said under Shariah law women had property rights and urged the delegation to examine such legal provisions. She also expressed concern over incidents of "honour killings" and the fact that a wife must share a husband's name.
On article 2, on constitutional and legislative measures, an expert noted that Turkey was reviewing its Civil Code and revising elements of its Criminal Code. Was it realistic to expect that all reservations from the Convention would be removed by the year 2000? How would the political will be mobilized amongst a largely male government? Was there a specific political strategy? she asked.
Another expert asked about the specific functions of the two government entities dealing with women's policy. Did non-governmental organizations have the necessary political latitude and freedom to pursue their programmes?
A question was raised on forced gynaecological examinations to prove virginity. Did the law calling for greater penalties for the raping of virgins actually create a legal necessity for such an examination? Such forced examinations under any circumstances proved nothing and made little sense. There had been reports of forced gynaecological examinations in State hospitals and prisons. The purpose was ostensibly to protect authorities from accusations of sexual abuse. In a society that held a strong cultural bias favouring virginity, such forced examinations were very damaging to women. Were there attempts to teach medical and police personnel that such enforced examinations represented a humiliating violation of human rights? she asked.
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Statistics did indicate many cases of sexual abuse in prisons, an expert said. There were also reports of sexual abuse of political detainees. Had the Government investigate such allegations and had it put appropriate sanctions in place to protect detainees? she asked.
The crime of rape was a violent crime against the person of a woman; it was not a crime against the honour of a man, said an expert. Elements of the Criminal Code that offered defence for so-called honour crimes should be changed. A question was asked on the necessity of spousal approval for abortion. No other medical procedure required the approval of one adult for another consenting adult, she said.
On article 4, concerning affirmative action, an expert asked about the attitude towards such policies. What was the opposition to affirmative action? Was there a systematic plan to institutionalize such a policy?
Another member asked about the credit and housing programmes for women. Did women from rural areas and the informal sector benefit from those programmes? she asked.
Concerning article 5, on social and cultural patterns, an expert asked whether there was a formal plan to introduce women's studies programmes. Certain stereotypes of women appeared to be deeply rooted in the minds of both men and women in Turkey. Major solutions were needed to address such major problems as illiteracy and domestic violence. Such solutions did not appear to be under way. The Government had reported that the true scope of violence against women was unknown and its response to the violence was inadequate. What were the statistics on honour crimes and their relationship to overall violence against women? she asked.
A Committee member emphasized the need for programmes to address deeply rooted gender bias, which often fuelled domestic violence. There did not appear to be specific programmes, for example, to sensitize journalists to violence against women. Had the Government taken any action to respond to specific reported cases of sexual abuse of political detainees? she asked.
It was very disturbing that women themselves had not been the target of advocacy to change the stereotypes that prevented their advancement, an expert said. Practices in rural areas appeared to be the most conservative and detrimental to women. Women could not enjoy their rights if they were not convinced of the validity of those rights.
On article 6, concerning trafficking and prostitution of women, an expert commented on the legality of prostitution in Turkey. It appeared that Turkish society was more interested in protecting itself morally and medically from prostitutes than in protecting the rights of the women who become prostitutes. Such women were particularly vulnerable to the violation of
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their rights. If prostitution was permitted, why did the law call for the deportation of foreign women who practised prostitution? Often, economic circumstances forced women into prostitution. International trafficking in women involved large sums of money, and thus economically vulnerable women were particular prey to such activity by organized criminal elements.
One expert inquired about the survey which had been conducted in the brothels. Were reports of a plan to close down the brothels accurate? If such a plan existed, what programmes would be utilized to assist the affected women, who would then be outcasts in a community that prized virginity.
Another expert said that if women were responsible for the education of children, then women must bear the primary responsibility for the continuation of traditional role patterns. Advocacy efforts must be focused on women to change the status quo.
Turning to article 7, on women in public and political life, an expert asked whether research on voting behaviour was being done.
On article 10, on education, a question was asked about the exact curriculum in the religious training schools. Could a debate be initiated in such institutions on the role of women in modern society? Were there enough schools for the girls or was it a question of the lack of attendance by girls at the schools? What information campaigns were planned concerning women's human rights aimed at women. Women were not aware of their own rights. What was the actual percentage of women in home economics courses in secondary schools? Did unmarried women have equal access to abortion? she further asked.
Regarding article 11, on employment, an expert asked how Turkey was addressing the pervasive problem of child labour. Another question was asked about the adequacy of child-care facilities for employed women.
On article 12, on health care, a member asked if elective sterilization was performed and, if so, what was the proportion of women and men involved. Did women tolerate domestic violence because of societal attitudes towards divorced women?
On article 16, on family matters, an expert expressed doubts about the extent of the reform of the Civil Code. The Turkish Government should examine a number of models. If the property allocation law was changed in marriage, would the contribution by the wife in the home be economically factored into a divorce settlement? Would the concept of guilt continue to be a part of the divorce process? Was it true that women in the foreign service were denied maternity leave? Was the discussion in the Committee going to be made available to the Government as part of the debate on legal reform?
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YAKIN ERTUK, Sociology Professor and representative of Turkey, responding to concerns that Turkey might be going backwards in the advancement of women, said that what seemed to be a retreat from the tradition of women's equality was attributable to two factors. First, democracy had its price. It was not possible to mobilize as rapidly as might be wished. The progress which had been made was immense. Turkey also had a considerable middle class population which brought new actors into the political arena. It was a far more diverse society than when the progressive methods were first introduced into a polarized society. The present diversity was also a strength.
The second source of difficulty could be put in the context of the fact that rights were not given, they were taken, she said. All women in the society were not in an equal position to take advantage of the rights originally granted. The Turkish women's movement was relatively new, since the mid-1980s. There was currently a crisis of institutions all over the world. New ambiguities had given rise to the questioning of traditional institutions.
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