DEM Party submits petition to change that phrase on TBMM TV

The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) has submitted a petition to the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) to change the phrase 'statesmen' on the TBMM TV website.

According to the report in Gazete Duvar, DEM Party Diyarbakır MP Adalet Kaya stated the following regarding the petition she submitted: “Socially sexist thought systems are produced and maintained through language. Sexist language is an element that both feeds and is fed by sexist practice. Defining the human species through a gender perceived as superior is also a sexist practice. For example, expressions such as 'scientist' (bilim adamı), 'sensible/proper' (adamakıllı), or 'businessman' (iş adamı) are expressions that reinforce the assumption that men are superior in the gender hierarchy within the human species.”

USE 'STATE ADMINISTRATORS' INSTEAD OF 'STATESMEN'

Kaya stated that an example of these expressions containing gender discrimination is also used on the website of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, noting that the term 'statesmen' is used in the section describing the duties of TBMM TV.

Noting that the Grand National Assembly of Turkey should use gender-egalitarian language instead of expressions that render women invisible in politics, Kaya proposed that the term 'state administrators' be used instead of 'statesmen'.

News Source: 12punto