Women in politics divides EU and Turks
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 27, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - The different mentalities of people in Turkey and in European Union countries toward the participation of women in politics have been highlighted once again, this time in a panel organized by the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey, or KAGİDER.
Talking at Wednesday’s panel discussion in Istanbul, Karin Riis Jorgensen, a member of the European Parliament for 15 years, said European national governments supported women who wanted to share their time between family and career with special legal regulations. Turkey’s case is the opposite, said Hülya Gülbahar, the head of the Association to Support and Educate Female Candidates, or KA-DER.
She gave the example of kindergartens, which under the new social insurance law, will have no chance to develop, according to Gülbahar. The new law will not make the life of working mothers easier, she said.
Jorgensen, who is from Denmark, said Danish national law did not guarantee equal pay for equal work until the country became a member of the European Union in 1973 and the national regulations have been changed according to the treaties of the EU. She said women were the forces to change the history of Turkey and lead it toward EU membership.
She also underlined the role of media in the process of implementing pro-women laws by highlighting all the offences and unfulfilled promises of the authorities.
Media impact
The impact of Turkish media is the opposite, Gülbahar said. The way of presenting news about women in politics is based on prejudices and stereotypes.
"Newspapers care about the way women look," Gülbahar said, supporting her statement with numerous examples, such as the infamous case of Angela Merkel’s dcollet at the Oslo opera house, which had big coverage in Turkish press, or publicity around the demand of Turkish female Members of Parliament for a hairdresser in the Parliament buildings.
She gave the example of kindergartens, which under the new social insurance law, will have no chance to develop, according to Gülbahar. The new law will not make the life of working mothers easier, she said.
Jorgensen, who is from Denmark, said Danish national law did not guarantee equal pay for equal work until the country became a member of the European Union in 1973 and the national regulations have been changed according to the treaties of the EU. She said women were the forces to change the history of Turkey and lead it toward EU membership.
She also underlined the role of media in the process of implementing pro-women laws by highlighting all the offences and unfulfilled promises of the authorities.
Media impact
The impact of Turkish media is the opposite, Gülbahar said. The way of presenting news about women in politics is based on prejudices and stereotypes.
"Newspapers care about the way women look," Gülbahar said, supporting her statement with numerous examples, such as the infamous case of Angela Merkel’s dcollet at the Oslo opera house, which had big coverage in Turkish press, or publicity around the demand of Turkish female Members of Parliament for a hairdresser in the Parliament buildings.