In January, a branch of the Association for Human Rights and Solidarity with the Oppressed was closed for statements found insulting to the state. Another branch was closed in May, and 15 other branches and the homes of executive members were raided by police in June. Roughly 99 percent of Turks are Sunni Muslim. Religious freedom is restricted by limits on worship to designated sites, constraints on building houses of worship for minority religions, and military-backed government crackdowns on political Islam. Police detained 40 people in September for operating a church in Izmir without an official permit.
Women face discrimination in family matters such as inheritance, marriage, and divorce.
Social norms make it difficult to prosecute rape cases, and the penalty for rape may be reduced if a woman was not a virgin prior to her attack. In January, the Turkish justice ministry announced that family members and authorities will no longer be allowed to subject women and girls to gynecological tests to determine virginity. Workers may form unions, bargain collectively, and strike, with the exception of workers engaged in the protection of life and property. This category includes workers in the mining and petroleum industries, sanitation, defense, and education. Labor unions held a strike in August to protest proposed pension reforms.