European Parliament resolution on women's role in social, economic and political life in Turkey (2006/2214(INI))
Date: 2007-02-13
Institutions: Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, European Parliament
Subjects: Community acquis, Türkiye, accession negotiations, accession to the European Union, domestic violence, gender equality, position of women, women's rights

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34.
Emphasises the right of Member States to apply the proximity and self-sufficiency principle in rela-
tion to recovery or disposal of mixed municipal waste in order to encourage national planning of waste
management and waste incineration capacity;

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Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission, and the govern-

35.
ments and parliaments of the Member States.

P6_TA(2007)0031

Women in Turkey

European Parliament resolution on women's role in social, economic and political life in Turkey
(2006/2214(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Commission's Communication of 8 November 2006 entitled ‘Enlargement Strategy
and Main Challenges 2006-2007’ (COM(2006)0649), and especially to the progress report on Turkey
contained therein,

— having regard to the Commission's Communication of 9 November 2005 entitled ‘2005 enlargement

strategy paper’ (COM(2005)0561),

— having regard to its resolution of 27 September 2006 on Turkey's progress towards accession (1),

— having regard to its resolution of 6 July 2005 on the role of women in Turkey in social, economic and

political life (2),

— having regard to the decision of the European Council of 17 December 2004 to open negotiations with

Turkey on accession to the European Union on 3 October 2005,

— having regard to the Community acquis in the field of women's rights and gender equality,

— having regard to the Recommendation Rec(2003)3 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of
Europe of 12 March 2003 to member states on balanced participation of women and men in political
and public decision-making,

— having regard to the ILO's Home Work Convention No 177 of 1996,

— having regard to the ‘Women and Employment’ report of the EU-Turkey Joint Consultative Committee
of the European Economic and Social Committee, produced in Kayseri (Turkey) on 14 July 2006,

— having regard to the Turkish Parliamentary Commission report on custom and honour killings and

violence against women and children of 2006,

(1) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2006)0381.
(2) OJ C 157 E, 6.7.2006, p. 385.

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— having regard to the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights of 10 November 2005 on

Turkey's regulations on wearing the Islamic headscarf in higher education institutions (1),

Tuesday 13 February 2007

— having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW) of 1979 and its Optional Protocol of 1999, which form part of international
law and to which Turkey has been party since 1985 and 2002 respectively, and having regard to
Article 90 of the Turkish Constitution which states that international law takes precedence over Turkish
national law,

— having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the
(A6-0003/2007),

report of

the Committee on Women's Rights

and Gender Equality

A. whereas adoption of the Community acquis is obligatory for candidates for accession to the EU and

whereas women's rights and gender equality are part of the Community acquis,

B. whereas the Commission's report on Turkey's progress towards accession, contained in its above-
identifies, as regards the situation of women, the
mentioned strategy paper of 9 November 2005,
following main areas of concern,
inter alia: violence against women, particularly domestic violence
and crimes in the name of honour, a high illiteracy rate, a low level of participation by women in
parliament and in local representative bodies, and the low level of women's participation and the
prevailing discrimination in the labour market, given that economic independence is essential for their
emancipation and should be of particular concern to Turkey,

C. whereas the Commission has concluded, in its 2006 progress report on Turkey, that the legal frame-
work as regards women's rights is satisfactory overall, but that the implementation thereof remains a
challenge,

Emphasises that respecting human rights,

is a conditio sine qua non of
1.
membership of the EU and calls on the Commission to make the issue of women's rights central to the
negotiations with Turkey;

including women's rights,

2. Welcomes the fact that the active phase of the accession negotiations between Turkey and the Euro-
pean Union has begun; regrets, however, the slowing-down of the reform process in Turkey over the last
year and the persistent problems with women's rights;

Implementation of legislation and coordination

Notes that the legal framework on women's rights has in general been satisfactory but considers that
3.
its implementation remains flawed; therefore, reiterates its call for full and effective implementation of the
Community acquis in the field of women's rights, particularly in the poorer regions of the country;

Urges the Turkish Government to speed up implementation of the new legislation on women's rights
4.
and to ensure that it is absolutely in line with the requirements of the Community acquis and that it is
effectively implemented in practice;

Points out that the new Turkish Penal Code, which entered into force in June 2005, substantially
5.
strengthens the basic rights of women, but that the European directives on the equality of men and
women have still not been completely transposed; notes with concern the (unsuccessful) attempts made to
repeal legislation on women's rights;

(1) Leyla Şahin v Turkey, Application No 44774/98.

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6.
Deplores the fact that, in parts of south-east Turkey, girls are not registered at birth, and that this
hampers the fight against forced marriage and crimes in the name of honour, since the victims have no
official identity; urges the Turkish authorities to continue taking all necessary measures to ensure that all
Turkish children are registered at birth;

7.
Emphasises that the Turkish Government should maintain and establish, where necessary, its country-
wide legal registration of marriages so as to guarantee the full entitlement of every man and woman to the
benefits of citizenship, such as access to education and to health care as well as equal access to the labour
market;

8. Welcomes the establishment in Turkey of an Advisory Board on the Status of Women (‘the Board’)
which will provide advice on the planning and implementation of state policies related to women's rights;

9.
Emphasises the need to include social partners, representatives of bodies and non-governmental orga-
nisations (NGOs) dealing with gender equality issues and representatives of trade unions within the Board,
which is not currently the case, and urges the authorities concerned to use the Board effectively in order to
achieve efficient coordination between stakeholders;

Civil society

10.

Notes its continuing concern in relation to cooperation between NGOs and the Turkish Government;

Calls for all NGOs, including free and autonomous women's organisations, to be treated in the same

11.
way;

12.
Considers that the meeting of Turkey's State Minister in Charge of Women's Rights with the repre-
sentatives of 55 women's organisations in Turkey, together with the decision to establish more structured
cooperation and effective coordination between the ministry and NGOs, constitute good practices which
should be repeated regularly; expects to see this political will assume practical expression in future in the
form of specific initiatives and measures;

13.
Calls on the Commission and the Turkish Government to acknowledge the role of women's rights
NGOs as fundamental and essential partners through official and permanent structures and institutions and
to involve NGOs in the process of negotiating EU accession in a structured manner on the basis of the
procedures laid down;

Calls on the Turkish Government to launch a large-scale campaign to convey to the whole of society

14.
the image of women as players driving economic and social development;

15.
Acknowledges the growing concern of women's rights NGOs about the problems they face during
the extensive procedures for obtaining grants from the EU and while conducting the projects for which they
obtained grants; notes that many women's rights NGOs hesitate to apply and, as a result, fail to benefit from
a critically important resource;

16. Welcomes the establishment of the STGM (Civil Society Development Centre), which works on help-
ing civil society development;

Calls on the Commission to provide additional assistance, inter alia by building up the capacity of

17.
other assistance centres;

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Data, benchmarks and goals

Notes that there is still a lack of accurate data on the situation of women in Turkey and that existing

18.
data do not yet cover all problems relating to the situation, role and rights of women;

19. Welcomes, in this respect, the initiative launched at the beginning of 2007 by the Turkish State
Institute of Statistics to provide ‘gender statistics’ relating to social, cultural and economic life, including
data on the gender pay gap;

20. Welcomes the EU-Turkey joint project entitled ‘Promoting gender equality’, the objective of which is
to strengthen the capacity of stakeholders to protect women from domestic violence, and welcomes, as part
of the project, the initiative entitled ‘National research on the causes and consequences of violence against
women’, which is designed to set up a database on violence against women;

Calls on the Turkish Government to provide specific and reliable data on the illiteracy rate among
21.
women, on equal access for women to education, on problems related to the participation of women in the
labour force, on violence against women and on honour killings and forced marriages;

Calls on the Commission, in its reports to the European Council on the pace of reforms, to come up

22.
with clear guidelines and precise short, medium and long-term goals for women's rights;

Calls on the Turkish Government to ensure that all women, regardless of their language, race, ethni-

23.
city, colour, political opinion, belief and religion are involved in women's rights programmes;

24.
Is alarmed at the Commission's observation that the Law on the protection of the family is only
partially applied, and calls upon the Turkish authorities forthwith to implement it correctly and effectively,
since this will contribute to protecting the position and rights of women within the family;

Violence against women

Notes that violence against women is still a problem and condemns instances of violence against

25.
women, including honour killings, domestic violence, forced marriages and polygamy;

26.
Takes note of the Commission's remark that, despite the provisions in the new Turkish Penal Code
listing ‘honour killings’ as an aggravated circumstance for the crime of murder, the sentences issued by
courts, as the Commission points out, reflect a mixed picture; calls on the judicial authorities to apply and
interpret correctly and effectively the provisions of the Penal Code in order to avoid this kind of crime and
to guarantee that crimes against women cannot benefit
from reduced sentences or extenuating
circumstances;

27.
Is deeply concerned about the fact that suicides committed by women due to the influence of the
family continue to occur, especially in the regions of the East and the South-East; urges the Turkish autho-
rities to protect women from this kind of pressure exerted upon them by their families and to submit
specific and reliable data on suicide among women, particularly in those regions;

Calls on the public institutions (the judiciary, the administration, the police, the health- care system,

28.
etc.) to ensure that women affected by violence in Turkey receive all necessary protection;

Stresses that,

29.
in cases in which there has been a failure to protect and assist victims, a judicial
investigation should be initiated through the public institutions and efforts made to take disciplinary mea-
sures against those responsible;

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30. Welcomes the official circular issued by the Prime Minister following a Turkish Parliamentary Com-
mission report on custom and honour crimes and violence against women, instructing all ministries, public
institutions and local administrators to enforce proposed solutions to deal with violence against women;
calls on the Turkish Government to formulate binding and practical instructions for the implementation of
that official circular, to provide a sufficient budget to take the necessary measures and to spell out the
consequences of non-compliance;

31. Welcomes the official circular of the Turkish Ministry of Interior Affairs of 9 January 2007 establish-
ing an action plan for the coordination of policies to prevent honour and custom crimes, which asks for
firm implementation of the law on the establishment of a shelter in all municipalities with over 50 000
inhabitants, for the establishment of special committees in every city in order to coordinate the efforts to
help the victims of honour and custom crimes and for taking measures to provide psychological and finan-
cial support and protection to the victims;

32. Welcomes the initiative designed to provide soldiers in military service with education on the pre-
vention of violence against women and to include in the curriculum of police schools issues such as
women's rights as part of human rights, gender equality, violence against women and honour crimes;

33.
Calls on the Turkish Government and the Commission to tackle violence in general and honour
crimes in particular as a priority and to set up special high-security shelters, including in regions in south-
east Turkey, so that women have shelters in their own neighbourhood; calls for support and assistance
measures for the free women's advisory centres in south-eastern Turkey, for example KA-MER, urges eco-
nomic development that focuses on women in regions in which women are vulnerable to violence; stresses
the importance of systematic investigation and effective punishment and therefore the training of police and
judicial authorities in gender equality issues and the fight against violence; points out the need to instruct
judges to apply new laws to severely punish violence in general and honour crimes, forced marriages and
polygamy in particular and the importance of the protection of witnesses; urges the Turkish Government to
conclude a special agreement with the Commission on participation in the programme to prevent and
combat violence against children, young people and women and to protect victims and groups at risk
(Daphne programme) and to set aside the necessary financial resources in the national budget for this
purpose;

34.
Points out that women must be offered not only protection but above all psychological care and
advice; demands that such services be provided in women's shelters and on the ground in regions with high
rates of suicide among women and violence against women;

Calls on Turkish Government to build alliances with all groupings — civil, social or religious — in
35.
society so as to initiate campaigns, targeted in particular at the young, to spread awareness that violence
against women and children is a serious breach of human rights, and to generate repugnance for all forms
of violence;

Shelters

36.
Notes that the shelters in Turkey for women who have been victims of violence, which are reported
to have capacity for 469 women and which have thus far provided services for 5 512 women (1), do not
meet the needs of a population of approximately 70 million, while even the modest possibilities afforded
under the law in force, namely a shelter in all municipalities with over 50 000 inhabitants, are not being
sufficiently utilised;

Calls on the Turkish Government to ensure the efficiency, security and availability of sufficient num-

37.
bers of shelters for the needs of women;

(1) Source: Nimet Çubukçu, Turkey's State Minister in Charge of Women's Rights.

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38. Welcomes the establishment of the ‘183 Family, Woman, Child and Handicapped Social Services’
telephone helpline to report violence and also welcomes the establishment of a nationwide urgent assistance
line, 157, for the victims of human trafficking, and believes that these helplines may serve as a good
example for the EU;

Tuesday 13 February 2007

Once again calls on Turkey to ratify Additional Protocol No 12 to the European Convention on

39.
Human Rights1;

Calls on the Turkish Government to carry out structural and personnel improvements in women's

40.
shelters and to eliminate shortcomings that have given rise to complaints;

41.
Encourages the Turkish Government to do more to promote cooperation between state institutions/
local authorities and independent women's organisations; urges it also to provide financial support for
independent and autonomous women's shelters;

Political participation

42.
Notes that the political participation by women in Turkey is too low; underlines the fact that dis-
crimination against women can sometimes best be remedied by temporary positive discrimination measures,
as allowed by, inter alia, CEDAW, and that there is an absolute need for female role models in positions of
power and decision-making;

Suggests the proposal of measures to ensure appropriate representation of women on election lists as

43.
the best way to improve female participation in Turkish politics in the short term;

Calls on the Turkish political parties to adopt internal rules guaranteeing the presence of women in

44.
their management bodies at all levels;

45.
Urges the political parties in Turkey, starting from the upcoming elections in 2007, to include more
female candidates on election lists, to give women an appropriate role in the party hierarchy and to raise
awareness of the importance of female political participation;

46.
Strongly regrets that a standing committee on women's rights and gender equality has still not been
established within the Turkish Parliament; emphasises that promises made by the Turkish Government and
by some political parties in their party programmes should be upheld and underlines that the committee
should be established as soon as possible;

47.
Is concerned by the Commission's comment that women remain vulnerable to discriminatory prac-
tices, due inter alia to a lack of education and a high illiteracy rate in the country, and calls on the Turkish
Government to ensure gender equality in access to education and the labour market, especially in the south-
eastern regions; calls, in this regard, for measures in the educational sector in order to equip teaching staff
with gender competence and to maintain a system of incentives to keep girls in school; calls also for
schoolgirls and schoolboys to be made aware of equal rights for men and women and women's rights to
self-determination, including through gender-sensitive education manuals;

Education

48.
Notes that, according to Unicef estimates, each year between 600 000 and 800 000 girls who have
attained the mandatory age for going to school are either prevented by their families from doing so or do
not attend school because of logistical difficulties;

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49. Welcomes the girls' education campaign entitled ‘Let's go to school, girls’, which has resulted in the
enrolment of 222 800 girls in school; also welcomes the ‘Campaign to Support National Education’ that
reached almost 5 million adults in four years, most of whom are women from rural areas and girls who
could not attend school;

50.
Underlines the importance of education and its potential contribution to the economic independence
of women; calls on the Turkish authorities to establish a monitoring system to keep girls in the education
system; stresses the importance of females in school having increased access to colleges and universities and
greater involvement in disciplines such as psychology, to prepare and educate them so that they are able to
assist other female victims of abuse.

Participation in the labour market

Notes that the percentage participation of women in the labour market remains exceptionally low,
51.
below 25 %, and is very low compared to the average women's employment rate in the EU-27 of 49 % and
that the female employment rate has dropped to around 20 %, in contrast to the rise of women's participa-
tion in the informal sector, which is often the result of a combination of the low level of education of many
women, the lack of an institutionalised, widespread, accessible and affordable system of care facilities for
children, elderly and disabled relatives and the gender division of labour in society;

52.
Highlights the Commission's remark, as regards equal opportunities, that alignment is required in
respect of the Community acquis, in particular concerning parental leave, equal pay, equal access to employ-
ment and statutory and occupational social security;

in the light of

53. Welcomes,
the above, projects such as the joint Dutch-Turkish project entitled
‘Strengthening Equality in Employment’ and the forthcoming project entitled ‘Support for Women's Entre-
preneurship’, and the cooperation between Garanti Bank and KAGIDER (Female Entrepreneurs Association)
concerning credit facilities of up to USD 30 000 and free training provided for women entrepreneurs;

54.
Calls on the Turkish Government to establish a body or bodies for the promotion, analysis, monitor-
ing and support of equal treatment on the labour market, including vocational training within the meaning
of Article 8a of Council Directive of 76/207/EEC 9 February 1976 on the implementation of the principle
of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promo-
tion, and working conditions (1);

55.
Calls on the social partners and the Turkish Government to take all necessary measures to ensure the
transition of the informal economy to the formal economy; asks the Commission to make support for this
effort one of its priorities;

56.
Requests the Turkish Government to provide accurate data on discrimination against women, includ-
ing the access of women wearing headscarves to the labour market, in order to establish whether there is a
risk of indirect discrimination based on gender;

57.
Calls on the Turkish Government to improve the situation of home workers, most of whom are
women; in this connection, urges Turkey to sign and ratify the above-mentioned ILO Home Work Conven-
tion No 177 and to expand the Turkish Labour Code in order to cover home workers;

Once again calls on the Turkish Government to draft and implement national action plans on
58.
women and employment with a limited time-frame and concrete goals, as is currently the practice in the
Member States of the EU;

(1) OJ L 39, 14.2.1976, p. 40. Directive as amended by Directive 2002/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the

Council (OJ L 269, 5.10.2002, p. 15.).

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59.
Calls on the Turkish Ministry of Labour and the social partners to include gender equality issues in
their policies and in the collective labour agreements, and calls on the Turkish trade unions to organise
labour in the informal sector and to train union representatives on gender equality issues; welcomes in
this respect the initiatives of the trade union confederation Türk-IS;

60.
Stresses the important role of the social partners in promoting women's rights and their participa-
tion in economic, social and political life; encourages the social partners to do more to promote women's
participation in bodies engaged in social dialogue;

Decides to evaluate, on a regular basis, progress in the field of women's rights in Turkey in addition
61.
to, and in conjunction with, the yearly progress report of the Commission, and to measure Turkey's pro-
gress in the field of women's rights in accordance with the benchmarks established in the progress report;

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62.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Secretary Gen-
eral of the Council of Europe, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, the
Director-General of the International Labour Organization and the Government and Parliament of Turkey.