Fuss about name perplexes minister
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Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 20, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - State Minister Nimet Çubukçu says equality of opportunity includes positive discrimination for women. ’We demand something more than woman’s rights for woman.’ Çubukçu also says the debate about the name slowed the work of actually founding the unit
The state minister responsible for women and families weighed into a new debated on "equal rights" vs. "equal opportunity" yesterday, saying the latter conceptualization will do more of women.
Nimet Çubukçu, one of a handful of female parliamentarians, spoke in the wake of the disputed name of a new parliamentary commission on gender equality. Most women rights organizations in Turkey are outraged that a their preferred title, "Commission of Equality Between Men and Women" was rejected. Instead, the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, named the panel, "The Commission of Equal Opportunity for Men and Women."
Speaking at a conference entitled "Woman, Economics and Politics," organized by the Austrian High School Graduates Association, Çubukçu left early with the explanation that she need to attend a vote authorizing the commission whose name has provoked the contoversy. That women's groups put 12 years of effort into the creation of the commission only to see its goals changed, was a point many made to the minister.
"Equal opportunity is a policy envisioning ’equal treatment’ of sides, not removing the present inequality between men and women. This name preserves the present inequality," said a statement from women's organizations sent to Parliament.
But, explained Çubukçu, equality of opportunity includes positive discrimination for women. "We demand something more than woman’s rights for woman," she said, adding the name debate has slowed the work of actually founding the commission.
Deniz Bayraktar, the deputy rector of the Kadir Has Unviersity, which hosted the conference, said in her speech before Çubukçu that equal opportunity would not be possible without equality between men and women and called for sincerity about the women’s rights struggle.
Çubukçu also said Turkey needed to criticize itself because women have had the right to vote and be elected since the foundation of the Republic, but the percentage of female deputies in Parliament was still only 10 percent.
Female candidates only make up 3 percent
A great deal of effort was made to increase the number of female candidates in every party, including the AKP, for the upcoming local elections, Çubukçu said. But only 3 percent of candidates are women. The interest of women in general elections is much higher than local elections, which is an issue that should be researched, Çubukçu said.
"The legal equality of women and men does not mean that they have equal opportunities. So creating equal opportunities becomes much more important than equal rights," she said.
Nimet Çubukçu, one of a handful of female parliamentarians, spoke in the wake of the disputed name of a new parliamentary commission on gender equality. Most women rights organizations in Turkey are outraged that a their preferred title, "Commission of Equality Between Men and Women" was rejected. Instead, the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, named the panel, "The Commission of Equal Opportunity for Men and Women."
Speaking at a conference entitled "Woman, Economics and Politics," organized by the Austrian High School Graduates Association, Çubukçu left early with the explanation that she need to attend a vote authorizing the commission whose name has provoked the contoversy. That women's groups put 12 years of effort into the creation of the commission only to see its goals changed, was a point many made to the minister.
"Equal opportunity is a policy envisioning ’equal treatment’ of sides, not removing the present inequality between men and women. This name preserves the present inequality," said a statement from women's organizations sent to Parliament.
But, explained Çubukçu, equality of opportunity includes positive discrimination for women. "We demand something more than woman’s rights for woman," she said, adding the name debate has slowed the work of actually founding the commission.
Deniz Bayraktar, the deputy rector of the Kadir Has Unviersity, which hosted the conference, said in her speech before Çubukçu that equal opportunity would not be possible without equality between men and women and called for sincerity about the women’s rights struggle.
Çubukçu also said Turkey needed to criticize itself because women have had the right to vote and be elected since the foundation of the Republic, but the percentage of female deputies in Parliament was still only 10 percent.
Female candidates only make up 3 percent
A great deal of effort was made to increase the number of female candidates in every party, including the AKP, for the upcoming local elections, Çubukçu said. But only 3 percent of candidates are women. The interest of women in general elections is much higher than local elections, which is an issue that should be researched, Çubukçu said.
"The legal equality of women and men does not mean that they have equal opportunities. So creating equal opportunities becomes much more important than equal rights," she said.