Women face political barriers ahead of Turkey elections
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Women face political barriers ahead of Turkey elections
Polling shows that most Turks want more women involved in politics, but their underrepresentation continues.
A woman shouts slogans during a rally to mark International Women's Day, in Istanbul, Turkey March 8, 2023. REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya
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Nearly three-quarters of respondents to a poll say they would support a woman in their family entering politics, but only 17.4 percent of the deputies elected to the Turkish parliament in 2018 were women [File: Dilara Senkaya/Reuters]
By Andrew Wilks
Published On 10 May 202310 May 2023
Istanbul, Turkey – A nondescript apartment in Istanbul’s business district is the nerve centre of a drive to propel more women into Turkish politics. But with some 60 million voters due to cast their ballots in presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday, the mood at the office of Ben Secerim, or I Choose, is one of disappointment. The NGO was established two years ago to boost female participation in politics, specifically to hunt out suitable candidates to stand for parliament and recommend them as viable vote winners to political parties. Earlier this month, Ben Secerim unveiled 20 women who will stand for four parties in the May 14 legislative election. However, due to the nature of the election process – votes for parties are allocated to candidates according to their placement on ranked party lists – just four stand any real hope of entering the Turkish Grand National Assembly. “It’s very disappointing for us,” said Nilden Bayazit, president of Ben Secerim. “There’s a wall for women candidates even in more liberal parties. It shows there are still many blocks on women and they don’t want to change that.”
The wider picture is similarly discouraging for those seeking greater female representation in a country where women make up 50.7 percent of the electorate and where national women’s suffrage was introduced in 1934. Of their 600 parliamentary candidates, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has nominated 113 women while the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has selected 156 – ratios of 18.8 and 26 percent, respectively. The Workers’ Party of Turkey (TIP) is fielding the highest proportion of female candidates at 40.5 percent. Looking at the number of highly-placed women on party lists offers an even bleaker prospect for women’s role in mainstream politics. The CHP has women ranked first on its list in just 11 of Turkey’s 87 electoral districts, while the AKP has four.
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An international problem
The underrepresentation of women in national legislatures is not a situation unique to Turkey. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, women account for half or more of the lawmakers in just five countries. Turkey comes 132nd in the world, with 17.4 percent of the deputies elected in 2018 being women. Some have pointed to patriarchal societies as the main barrier to women becoming involved in politics, but evidence in Turkey suggests such attitudes have eased significantly.
In research carried out by Ben Secerim and the polling firm KONDA last year, 62 percent of respondents said that female politicians would help Turkey develop and become a better society. A similar number supported mandatory quotas for women in political parties. Nearly three-quarters said they would support a woman from their family entering politics. “The issue of female politicians is not just a matter of equal representation; a female politician is needed for a democratic society, for justice, to solve the climate problem, to end corruption, to transform education policies and to regulate family policies,” Bayazit said. Turkish women have long been at the forefront of campaigning on social issues. Every International Women’s Day on March 8 sees thousands flood the streets to call for equality and rights. Turkey’s 2021 withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention on protecting women against violence increased civil activists’ fears.
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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/10/women-face-political-barriers-ahead-turkey-elections