Istanbul Bar Association reacts to Constitutional Court's alimony ruling
The Constitutional Court has annulled the provision for indefinite alimony in the Turkish Civil Code by a majority vote. Following the decision, the Istanbul Bar Association's Women's Rights Center reacted to the ruling, arguing that the regulation would undermine women's acquired rights.
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The Constitutional Court (AYM) has annulled the regulation providing for the payment of indefinite alimony after divorce. Upon the application of the Antalya 12th Family Court, the provision in Article 175 of the Turkish Civil Code was ruled to be annulled by a majority vote. The AYM granted the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) a 9-month period to enact new legislation.
STATEMENT FROM THE ISTANBUL BAR ASSOCIATION
Following the decision, the Istanbul Bar Association's Women's Rights Center issued a written statement.
The statement included the following expressions:
"The AYM's annulment decision regarding poverty alimony is contrary to the principle of equality regulated in Article 10 of the Constitution.
We do not accept the reversal of rights that women have gained through more than a century of struggle due to the government's political maneuvers. The alimony regulation is a guarantee for women who are excluded from employment, impoverished, and subjected to violence due to injustices suffered within marriage and the burden of family care, to break out of this cycle. What is intended is to condemn women to violent families and to make them accept the burden of all care responsibilities not covered by the state by impoverishing them. We will not consent to this plan! While a legal path already exists for the complete removal or reduction of the amount of alimony ordered by courts, the claim that 'indefinite alimony creates victimization' is an unrealistic narrative constructed by the government.
In this lawless environment where AYM decisions are sometimes interpreted as mandatory and sometimes as not, depending on the government's policies, we warn local courts: The implementation of a regulation contrary to this fundamental provision, which is included within the scope of the right to protect and develop one's material and spiritual existence as stated in Article 17 of the Constitution and which protects the human dignity of women, will lead to irreversible consequences. We are not giving up on our rights and our lives!"