Motion on 'insufficient female representation' rejected by AKP-MHP votes

The Republican People's Party (CHP) group's proposal to prioritize a research motion submitted to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) to investigate the reasons for the insufficient representation of women in politics, public service, and the private sector in Turkey was rejected by the votes of the AKP and MHP.

"UNFORTUNATELY, HISTORY HAS TAKEN NOTE OF THIS"

CHP Antalya Deputy Aliye Coşar said the following in her speech regarding the proposal:

“In the World Economic Forum's gender gap report, Turkey ranked 129th in gender equality with 63.8 percent. According to the results of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) Household Labor Force Survey, the ratio of women in senior and middle management positions in companies was only 20.7 percent in 2021. According to 2021 TÜİK data, the labor force participation rate for those aged 15 and over in Turkey is 70.3 percent for men, while it is only 32.8 percent for women. The average female labor force participation rate in OECD countries is 51 percent.

Female representation in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the Cabinet, and local governments is not equal. Only 17 percent of the deputies who formed the 27th Term Parliament were women, and in this term, the figure is 19 percent. According to data from the Women in Politics 2023 Map published by UN Women and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Turkey ranks 132nd out of 186 countries in terms of the ratio of women in parliament. In the 27th Term, our legislative proposal prepared with the signatures of Republican People's Party deputies to increase the representation rates of women was rejected in this General Assembly Hall by the votes of the AKP and MHP. It was a necessary legislative proposal for women to live and exist in an egalitarian, free, and democratic environment. If we are still talking about gender inequality in the 100th year of the Republic, one reason for this is the “no” votes cast that day. Unfortunately, history has taken note of this.

"ONLY 1 FEMALE MINISTER SERVES IN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH"

Only 1 female Minister serves in the executive branch, whereas this number was 2 in the previous cabinet. We do not accept women being confined within the Ministry of Family. Establishing a ministry for women is a necessity. Female representation is a cross-party field of struggle. We all have duties in this regard.

Unfortunately, there is no equality regarding female representation in the judiciary either. Among the 15 members who make up the Constitutional Court, there are unfortunately no female members. According to data published by the Council of Judges and Prosecutors in 2022, there are a total of 15,321 judges across Turkey, and women make up 46 percent of this number. Women make up only 16 percent of the 7,494 prosecutors. Women, who make up half of society and are subjected to violence, harassment, bullying, and are victims of murder every day, are not represented in decision-making processes in the private sector, just as they are not in politics and the public sector. The existence of women is acknowledged, but they are not wanted to be seen. For many years, women's struggle for equality, labor, and rights has been ongoing. Gender equality is a fundamental right and the foundation of democracy."

"WE ARE AT HALF THE RATE OF MALE EMPLOYMENT"

Saadet Party Denizli Deputy Sema Silkin Ün stated, "Before moving on to the situation of our women in representation, I want to talk about how we have evolved in terms of women's happiness levels between 2003 and 2022, and as data, I am referring to the data of our domestic and national institution, TÜİK. At the end of this twenty-year period, the rate of women who feel happy and very happy in the categories decreases by 15 percent, and the rate of women who feel unhappy and very unhappy shows a 100 percent increase. This unhappiness is influenced by the lack of social security, the inability to take part in employment, weaknesses in merit and promotion, the inability to receive equal pay for equal work, and the failure to fully implement policies that will ensure work-life balance. So, where are we in this data? We are at half the rate of male employment in female employment; our gender gap here is 36.4 percent. In gender-based wage discrimination, we are at 5 percent in the public sector and 15 percent in the private sector. In terms of working hours, we are the country that works the longest in the OECD; every employee works an average of four hours overtime. We cannot even say that the ruling party has met its own targets in women's labor force participation, and we are far behind the world average of 52.4 percent; we are at the bottom of Europe," she said.

"HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO ENSURE PEACE WITHIN THE FAMILY, HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO PROTECT WOMEN?"

İYİ Party Manisa Deputy Şenol Sanat noted the following regarding the motion:

“For us, the republic is everything; it is independence, freedom, and living humanely, but most importantly, it is women's rights and equal opportunity. As in every period of history, political thoughts, ways of thinking, distorted mental structures, forms of government, and sometimes religions and ideologies that dominate the state and social life also determine the social, cultural, economic, and political roles of women. The situation we have reached is clear. Honorable deputies, women and children are the most affected by poverty, corruption, the economic crisis Turkey has been dragged into, and the resulting social decay; my words are for the political power that harvests votes from poverty. A large part of society is below the hunger and poverty line. In such an order, women are helpless, honorable deputies. Yes, our female ratio has reached 19.8 percent, and when we look at it, it is the highest female representation in Turkish history, but when we look at the world average, it is 26.5 percent, meaning we are far below it. How many female ministers do we have, how many female governors do we have, how many female rectors do we have, how many managers do we have in the private sector in a sufficient and balanced way? In the last ten months, 364 women were murdered, violence against women is becoming increasingly widespread, divorces are increasing like an avalanche, and our family structure is being shaken. While these pains are being experienced, Mr. Erdoğan says: ‘Our withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention has not had the slightest negative impact on women's rights and the fight against violence’. Well, did our withdrawal have a positive impact, Mr. Erdoğan? Have you been able to ensure peace within the family, have you been able to protect women?"

"WE CANNOT BENEFIT FROM THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION AT THE SAME RATE AS MEN"

HEDEP Van Deputy Gülcan Kaçmaz Sayyiğit said, "Turkey is one of the countries where gender inequality is experienced most severely in the world. According to the research conducted by the World Economic Forum on 144 countries, Turkey ranks 131st in gender equality, 59th in health, 101st in access to education, 118th in political participation, and 128th in the economy. We cannot benefit from the right to education at the same rate as men, we do not receive the same pay as the men we do the same work with, and moreover, when we want to participate in politics to change these, our path is blocked. Gender inequality, which has a male-dominated foundation, leads to gender discrimination, and is the most fundamental cause of violence against women, unfortunately continues to produce results that prevent us women from existing equally and freely in society. I want to touch upon these problems here, even if partially. The gains of the women's struggle are being tried to be destroyed and made invisible by the current government at every opportunity. Why do I say this? Let's look together. In the Plan and Budget Committee, we wanted the following expressions to be included under the 3.3.5 'Women' heading in the Twelfth Development Plan: 'Studies will be carried out for a gradual transition with the goal of increasing the representation and participation of women, who make up half of the population, in all decision-making mechanisms including public, private sector, and politics, and at every level of administration,' and we wanted the sentence 'A legal infrastructure will be created for the establishment of a co-mayorship system in local governments' to be added; it was rejected. We will express the same sentence repeatedly, and we will insistently underline this in our discussions here," she said.