Statement by Ela Gokalp
To the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women
On the Fourth and Fifth Periodic Report of the Government of Turkey
17 January 2005

This presentation is based on the Shadow Report for Turkey prepared by the Executive Committee for the NGO Forum on CEDAW- Turkey

Thank you, Madam Chair and distinguished Members of the Committee for giving me the opportunity to address some of the critical issues on the second Shadow Report, which have been determined with the consensus of more than 138 NGOs in Turkey. I speak on behalf of the Executive Committee for NGO Forum on CEDAW- Turkey.

My presentation is based on four critical areas:

The first area of concern is a need for a Constitutional Amendment on Affirmative Action.

The Constitution of Turkey states that “No privilege shall be granted to any individual, family, group or class”. The amendment, which came into effect in April 2004, has been formulated as follows: “Women and men have equal rights. The state is responsible for overseeing that this equality goes in to practice.”

This amendment does not provide the necessary constitutional basis for the adoption of special measures to promote gender equality and falls short of meeting the obligations. It could easily serve as a basis for the rejection of any necessary measures for affirmative action.

In this regard, according to CEDAW Articles 3; 4 paragraph 1; 15 paragraph 1, the Constitution needs to be amended by adding the insertion: “The state takes all necessary measures to provide gender equality, including special temporary measures”;

In addition, according to CEDAW Article 2, 4.1 and 15, in order to ensure in all legislation, the adoption of an Equality Framework Law is crucial. In conjunction with an ‘Equality Framework Law’, the establishment of a parliamentary ‘Standing Commission on Gender Equality’ and a ‘Gender Equality Ombud’ are essential in order to monitor the implementation of legislation, policies and programs to eliminate discrimination against women.

The second area of concern is a need for a Gender Quota System to the Political Parties and Election Act.

Although women in Turkey have the right to vote or to be elected, their participation in decision making mechanisms and representation rate in politics is extremely low. Currently, only 4.4% of the MP’s in the parliament are women. At the local government level, the rate is only 1%. In this regard, according to CEDAW Articles 3, 4 and 7; a minimum 30% gender quota system must be introduced through the amendment of the Political Parties and Elections Acts.

The third area of concern, regarding to CEDAW Article 4 and 10, is Education.
19.4% of the women in Turkey are illiterate: this rate reaches 39% in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia. Close to 1.5 million children, mostly girls cannot attend primary school.

In education, elimination of discrimination against women is only possible if all the girls of the school aged population receive an eight-year compulsory education; if the female students of all levels are entitled to equal opportunity in accessing technology, scholarship support and sports facilities, and if more female students are encouraged to pursue graduate degrees and earn academic titles.

So that, temporary special measures are essential in providing equal opportunity for female students at all levels of education.

The fourth area of concern is Stereotypes, Marriage, Family Relations and Traditional Roles

Regarding CEDAW Article 4, 5 and 16; it should be pointed out here that same legislative steps have been taken by the government but implementation is still lacking. Strong commitment to establish gender equality and a systematic approach for implementation is required. The government must take the responsibility to ensure the behavioral changes expected from the third parties to eliminate discrimination against women in families where the discrimination is inherent in traditional gender roles. The change as identified by the Article 5 and 16 of CEDAW can only be ensured by a determined government policy and a strong will for implementation. The national action plans and annual programs for its implementation are essential.

Finally, we would like to emphasize the need for gender statistics, gender budgeting and for better implementation, awareness in-service training programs for public personnel, particularly those in law enforcement agents. Disability, sexual orientation, ethnic identity and dressing according to religious beliefs, should not form the basis for particular difficulties for women. Gender awareness should also be developed in the media and reflected in its structure and programs.

Thank you.

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