Brussels, 22/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - A change of mentality towards women is needed in Turkey. This was the view expressed by Emine Bozkurt (S&D, NL) as she presented a draft report on the situation of women in Turkey during a press conference on Thursday 22 September. In order to write her draft report, the rapporteur met a large number of representatives from private and public spheres before coming to the conclusion that the situation of women in Turkey has not improved since her last report on the subject in 2007, and that a change of mentality is necessary to move from a patriarchal society to a society based on gender equality. The low rate of female participation in politics and the violence that women still widely suffer are the rapporteur's major concerns. Entitled “A 2020 Perspective for Women in Turkey”, the draft report sets out a series of recommendations concerning social security, child minding and part-time work. Above all, however, Bozkurt recommends zero tolerance when it comes to combating violence against women in Turkey. There has been an effective precedent - that of combating torture in Turkey - and the rapporteur suggests inspiration could be taken from this law to obtain successful results in combating violence against women.
Bozkurt, however, also acknowledges that there has been a considerable amount of progress in Turkey such as the criminalisation of forced marriages or the lack of schooling, a closing of the gap between genders in primary schools, and the setting up of effective projects to assist women who are victims of violence. The draft report will be discussed in October and voted on in January 2012. (MD/transl.jl)