TURKEY: DIVERSE WOMEN LEADERS FIND COMMON GROUND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001833

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR EUR/SE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: DIVERSE WOMEN LEADERS FIND COMMON GROUND

REF: STATE 120322

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1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Charge d'Affaires hosted a lunch
December 17 to honor individuals at the forefront of
eliminating violence against women. The event brought
together prominent female parliamentarians, academics, NGO
leaders, think-tank analysts, and activists. It prompted
broad discussion from different ideological viewpoints on
women's issues, and came to consensus on the major issues
facing women in Turkey today: education, employment, and
political participation. END SUMMARY.

Education
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2. (SBU) During a luncheon hosted by the Charge d'Affaires on
December 17, education stood out as one of the most pressing
problems for women in Turkey. The academics in the group
stated that many women who are living in big cities have easy
access to some type of education. However, women who are
living in small cities and towns do not have the same access.
Our contacts underlined that although the data reflecting
female enrollment in primary education seems high, the
drop-out rate of female students is also very high. These
uneducated women often are unaware of their basic legal
rights and are easily swayed by cultural pressure from their
communities and families. Our contacts criticized the
government's promotion of female education as insufficient
and stated that most successful projects have been done by
NGOs. Participants claimed that these organizations do not
receive enough support or funding from the government.

Employment
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3. (SBU) Our contacts indicated that the number of women in
the government only constitutes 24 percent of
the workforce. The number of women working in the private
sector is much lower. According to the participants, the
major factors that affect the low employment rates of women
are: the male-dominated
cultural structure, social focus on the women's role in the
family as the caregiver, and the Government's statements and
messages about women as a dependent family member rather than
as an individual who shares the responsibility of the
family's income. Prime Minister Erdogan's recent public
advice to women that they need to have at least three
children received harsh criticism from some at the table, and
sparked a heated debate between members of the ruling Justice
and Development Party (AKP -- Erdogan's party) and the more
secular participants. They all agreed, however, that the
government need to publish messages that empower women, both
within the family and in public life.

Women in Politics
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4. (SBU) Another problem for women in Turkey is the low rate
of representation in the parliament and within municipal
governments. The NGO members stated that they have been
fighting for this issue for many years. However, there is
only so much they can do without help from the government.
The election laws need major revisions, they said, but none
of the political parties are willing to take the initiative
on this issue. As a result, the percentage of women in the
parliament is only 9.1 percent and the percentage of women
who serve in local governments is as low as 0.05 percent.
The female MPs at the luncheon complained that they often
receive biased comments from their male counterparts, such as
"Sister, why are you here? Go home and take care of your
children." This prompted some rueful smiles around the
table. Our guests agreed that the election laws urgently
need to be revised, a quota system should be implemented, and
their male counterparts should be trained on sensitivity to
gender equality issues.

There is a Hope
--------------


5. (SBU) Despite improvements moving at a snail's pace, our
guests stated they are still optimistic about the future of
women in Turkey. They applauded former State Minister for
Women's Affairs Nimet Cubukcu's effort to open women's
shelters in provinces that have a population of fifty

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thousand or more. All of our guests also stated that the
government has taken bold steps on women's issues during
Turkey's EU accession reforms. State Minister for EU Affairs
Egemen Bagis has hired nine female directors for the EU
General Secretariat. Parliament has approved the opening of
a new Equal Opportunity Commission for Women and Men during
the accession process, which was seen as the product of a
decades-long struggle by women activists. Participants said
that their active lobbying in Europe and collaborative work
in Turkey also paid off during the EU accession reforms
process. Turkey's 2009 EU Progress report reflected 85
percent of their comments on women's issues in Turkey.
Although they were encouraged by these developments, there is
still a lot more to do.

Comment
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6. (SBU) The lunch actually began with some tension. Two of
our guests -- a woman wearing a headscarf and another woman
from the AKP -- were not welcomed by the secular women
activists and academics, who literally turned their back to
them when they arrived. However, it did not seem to take
long for all the guests to realize that they were all
fighting for the same women's issues. The lunch discussion
allowed these divergent groups, who normally do not
communicate with one another, to open up lines of
communication. We were pleased to see that by the end of the
lunch, the most secular women and the conservative women who
wore head scarves were exchanging cards and chatting
animatedly. Indeed, they continued their lively discussion
outside, despite the rain. There may be a long way to go for
equality between women and men in Turkey, but the vibrant
debate among women bodes well.
SILLIMAN

"Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.s
gov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turkey"