’EU process needs women’s feedback’
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Fulya Özerkan
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 19, 2009 09:35
ANKARA - A meeting to promote civil society dialogue highlights women's problems in the context of Turkish-EU ties. 'Women's elegance and motherly wisdom must touch the EU process,' says Turkey's chief EU negotiator. Women's NGOs complain of insufficient representation in decision-making processes and call for affirmative action.
Women’s civil society organizations from every corner of the country convened Thursday in a widely participated meeting in Ankara to fight discrimination and domestic violence, an area Turkey needs to make progress in as part of its European Union membership negotiations.
"Problems are lingering even though Turkey has concluded a number of international agreements to improve the status of women. It is mainly because of the patriarchal approach still dominant in society," İlknur Kahvecioğlu of the Association for Educating and Supporting Female Candidates, or Ka-Der, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
The second meeting to promote civil society dialogue, which followed the first one in March, focused on women's problems in the context of Turkish-EU relations. "Women’s elegance and motherly wisdom must touch the EU process. Without women, we cannot make progress in EU entry talks," Turkey's chief EUnegotiator Egemen Bağış said in opening remarks. "We cannot ignore half of our population."
Turkey still has a long way to go in order to put into practice the existing laws. The head of the EU Commission delegation to Turkey said women's issues were among the political criteria Ankara needs to fulfill for membership in the EU. "Women issues are one of the core issues in the political criteria. Turkey has come a long way on this field yet there is still a lot that is needed to be done," Ambassador Marc Pierini told meeting. "In the EU, we also have problems of our own when it comes to gender equality and violence against women thus we are not only speaking out of principles but also experiences."
But he urged for a mentality change instead of passing laws. "Changing the laws is easy, but changing the mentality takes one or two generations."
Calls for affirmative action
Women’s NGOs linked the problems faced by women to their absence in the decision-making process and called for affirmative action. "The road to this passes through political parties. Turkey needs to amend its election law and bring 50-percent ’gender quota’ applicable to women," said Kahvecioğlu.
Şermin Aksoy of the Soroptimist Association said, "We want women to have a say in politics, and we are working hand in hand with other civil society organizations to achieve this objective."
The Soroptimist International Association is active in 125 countries with more than 3,000 branches. Regional disparities and women's failure to access equal opportunities are driving women into the peripheries of society.
"I live in the Thrace region in Edirne where women are sociable without being subjected to domestic violence," said Zeynep Enkin of the Edirne Active Women's Association. "I cannot even compare Edirne with Ankara, let alone eastern Anatolia. Basic rights such as education should be accessible to everyone with no discrimination."
The Ankara meeting also discussed a recent ruling by the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights that sentenced Turkey to pay damages for its failure to protect a woman from being murdered by her son-in-law. "The European court's verdict upset all of us. Turkey did not deserve such a penalty," said Bağış. "Our standards are not worse than Europe." In a landmark ruling, the court said Turkey denied a citizen the "right to life" by failing to prevent her murder by her son-in-law, marking the first time that the European Court of Human Rights has ruled against a state in a domestic violence case. Ankara was ordered to pay 36,000 euros in compensation to the applicant.
"Maybe the court made a decision on a single case, but there are thousands of tragic events facing women that are not brought onto the agenda," said Şanlıurfa’s Viranşehir Mayor Leyla Güven. "We need a change in mentality. But this change must not be out of an obligation to stick to EU commitments but out of a responsibility to improve rights."
"Problems are lingering even though Turkey has concluded a number of international agreements to improve the status of women. It is mainly because of the patriarchal approach still dominant in society," İlknur Kahvecioğlu of the Association for Educating and Supporting Female Candidates, or Ka-Der, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
The second meeting to promote civil society dialogue, which followed the first one in March, focused on women's problems in the context of Turkish-EU relations. "Women’s elegance and motherly wisdom must touch the EU process. Without women, we cannot make progress in EU entry talks," Turkey's chief EUnegotiator Egemen Bağış said in opening remarks. "We cannot ignore half of our population."
Turkey still has a long way to go in order to put into practice the existing laws. The head of the EU Commission delegation to Turkey said women's issues were among the political criteria Ankara needs to fulfill for membership in the EU. "Women issues are one of the core issues in the political criteria. Turkey has come a long way on this field yet there is still a lot that is needed to be done," Ambassador Marc Pierini told meeting. "In the EU, we also have problems of our own when it comes to gender equality and violence against women thus we are not only speaking out of principles but also experiences."
But he urged for a mentality change instead of passing laws. "Changing the laws is easy, but changing the mentality takes one or two generations."
Calls for affirmative action
Women’s NGOs linked the problems faced by women to their absence in the decision-making process and called for affirmative action. "The road to this passes through political parties. Turkey needs to amend its election law and bring 50-percent ’gender quota’ applicable to women," said Kahvecioğlu.
Şermin Aksoy of the Soroptimist Association said, "We want women to have a say in politics, and we are working hand in hand with other civil society organizations to achieve this objective."
The Soroptimist International Association is active in 125 countries with more than 3,000 branches. Regional disparities and women's failure to access equal opportunities are driving women into the peripheries of society.
"I live in the Thrace region in Edirne where women are sociable without being subjected to domestic violence," said Zeynep Enkin of the Edirne Active Women's Association. "I cannot even compare Edirne with Ankara, let alone eastern Anatolia. Basic rights such as education should be accessible to everyone with no discrimination."
The Ankara meeting also discussed a recent ruling by the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights that sentenced Turkey to pay damages for its failure to protect a woman from being murdered by her son-in-law. "The European court's verdict upset all of us. Turkey did not deserve such a penalty," said Bağış. "Our standards are not worse than Europe." In a landmark ruling, the court said Turkey denied a citizen the "right to life" by failing to prevent her murder by her son-in-law, marking the first time that the European Court of Human Rights has ruled against a state in a domestic violence case. Ankara was ordered to pay 36,000 euros in compensation to the applicant.
"Maybe the court made a decision on a single case, but there are thousands of tragic events facing women that are not brought onto the agenda," said Şanlıurfa’s Viranşehir Mayor Leyla Güven. "We need a change in mentality. But this change must not be out of an obligation to stick to EU commitments but out of a responsibility to improve rights."