Women are likely to increase their share of parliamentary seats in Turkey’s elections on Sunday, but the gender gap remains wide as the EU-hopeful country struggles to overcome patriarchal traditions.
“Men want to play politics with men. Women annoy them in the political arena, which they consider as their own domain,” said Ezgi Kocak from the KA-DER association, which supports women in politics.
The number of women lawmakers almost doubled in the 2007 elections, reaching 9.1 per cent, or 50 of the 550 seats.That figure could increase to 15 per cent in the upcoming polls, Kocak said, as “lobbying for women candidates has been effective in recent years,” leading parties to place them higher on their candidates’ lists. “But this is far from enough,” she added, calling for full gender equality in parliament.
To read the complete article please visit www.thenews.com
Women are likely to increase their share of parliamentary seats in Turkey’s elections on Sunday, but the gender gap remains wide as the EU-hopeful country struggles to overcome patriarchal traditions.
“Men want to play politics with men. Women annoy them in the political arena, which they consider as their own domain,” said Ezgi Kocak from the KA-DER association, which supports women in politics.
The number of women lawmakers almost doubled in the 2007 elections, reaching 9.1 per cent, or 50 of the 550 seats.That figure could increase to 15 per cent in the upcoming polls, Kocak said, as “lobbying for women candidates has been effective in recent years,” leading parties to place them higher on their candidates’ lists. “But this is far from enough,” she added, calling for full gender equality in parliament.
To read the complete article please visit www.thenews.com
