Dispute over protocol prompts charges of sexism at meeting in Ankara

Turkey and Europe are trading blame over who left the European Commission chief on her feet, in a spat over protocol that has prompted charges of sexism and overshadowed a critical meeting.

Purple Map shows women centers, day care centers and gender responsive municipal services of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality.

UN Women launched a gender responsive interactive tool called the Purple Map for the women of Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. The map, which is an easy to use guide that shows women centers, day care centers and gender responsive municipal services of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, aims to make the city safer for women.

Women in Turkish politics along with the wives and daughters of politicians have become targets of sexist attacks on social media over the past couple of weeks. Although women in politics tend to receive backlash based on their gender rather than their actions, especially on social media, the recent intensity of such incidents with repeated attacks on women from different political movements has raised concerns in the country regarding toxic masculinity – to the point of regulations being placed on social media to curb the onslaught.

Women in Turkey are not adequately represented in the Turkish political system and civil society associations should impose pressure to secure at least a one third quota through an amendment of the Law on the Political Parties, the leader of the main opposition party has said.

"Women in Turkey do five times as much domestic and care work than men. The Covid-19 crisis will likely deepen inequalities," says a guide by UN Women.

According to the “Women in Politics 2020” Map prepared by UN Women and IPU, Turkey ranks 138th in the category of women in ministerial positions while it ranks 122nd in the category of women in parliament, marking a degrade of two rankings.

Prepared by the United Nations (UN) Women and Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) since 2005, the "Women in Politics 2020" Map has been released.

51 women from different political parties and civil society organizations in Adana, southern Turkey, made a joint statement calling for more gender equality in politics at workshop organized by UN Women.