Assessment of Women’s Rights in Turkey
Turkey has a long history of promoting women's rights and is considered a pioneer in Europe and the Middle East. However, despite numerous legislative efforts, women continue to face widespread gender discrimination and violence, while their access to basic rights is often limited. This report reviews the current situation of women's rights in Turkey.
Over the years, Turkey has developed a robust legislative framework that gradually replaced previous laws restricting women's societal freedom. Since 2004, Article 10 of the Constitution states that “Women and men have equal rights. The state is obligated to ensure this equality within the society”. Consequently, laws protecting women's rights extend to every aspect of women's lives, including family, politics, health, and education.
Regarding family rights, the law was modified in 1926 to prohibit men’s right to polygamy and grant women equal rights to inheritance, divorce, curatorship, and succession. The law was further amended in 1997 to allow women to retain their surname after marriage. Turkish law also mandates life imprisonment for intentional offenders who kill a pregnant woman or commit honour killings. Concerning political rights women have had the right to vote since 1930 and to stand for election.
Regarding education, the law ensures that girls and boys have equal opportunities to apply to the same educational institutions at every level. Women’s health is also protected by the law, and virginity tests, which caused a number of suicide amongst teenage girls, were banned in 2002. Finally, the Turkish legislative system includes laws that safeguard women's rights in the workplace. This includes the prohibition of terminating a contract for pregnancy or breast-feeding leave, as well as laws protecting women against sexual harassment at work.
Turkey also possesses a number of legal structures to ensure gender equality and the defence of women’s rights. In 1985, Turkey became a party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and established two years later the Advisory Board for Policies Regarding Women. In 1990, the General Directorate on the Status of Women (KSGM) was established to abolish discrimination against women, protect their rights, and advocate for legal policies promoting women's rights in Turkish society.
Despite this encouraging legal and organisational framework, women in Turkey continue to be the targets of gender-based discrimination and violence. In the 2022 World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report, Turkey ranked 124th out of 146 countries in gender equality, highlighting a significant gap between the legal framework mentioned above and the actual situation. In 2022, at least 392 women were murdered by men, and 226 women died under suspicious circumstances. It is important to note that those numbers only represent an indication as many domestic violence cases remain unreported.
Despite the existence of laws aimed at safeguarding women's rights, the prevailing reality contradicts these legal protections, as societal attitudes and values continue to resist meaningful change. For example, in 2022, women had to file lawsuits to retain their surnames after marriage, despite the law granting them that right. Similarly, while women possess the right to divorce, violence from partners increases when women try to obtain a divorce, creating a climate of fear regarding their separation rights. In Turkish society, the concept of women holding the honour of their family remains deeply ingrained, making virginity crucial for both the honour of girls and their families, despite the ban on virginity tests.
Therefore, the law does not always have practical relevance, as courts do not consistently apply appropriate sentences. Activists have criticised courts for reducing sentences to perpetrators of gender-based violence as they judge victims to have “provoked” their perpetrators. This contributes to a culture of impunity in Turkish society.
In July 2022, Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, visited Turkey. Her 19-page report underscores that 4 out of 10 women experience violence from their partners or ex-partners, highlighting the issue of online violence in the country. In 2021, there were 268,817 reported domestic violence incidents, up from 162,110 in 2016. Many domestic violence incidents still go unreported due to factors such as lack of public awareness, distrust in the law enforcement system, fear, and stigmatisation. In her report she states that:
“The persistence of entrenched patriarchal attitudes, and discriminatory stereotypes are compounded by official declarations made by some public and religious figures concerning the roles and responsibilities of women in the family and in society which overstate the traditional role they play as mothers and wives, undermining women’s social status, autonomy, educational opportunities and professional careers, and constitute an underlying cause of gender-based violence against women.”
Taboos and harmful stereotypes surrounding women's roles outside the family hinder progress in Turkish society's approach to women's rights. There are also issues with the enforcement of laws regarding workplace harassment. Additionally, the problem of victim-blaming persists in cases of sexual harassment, and the underrepresentation of women in politics raises concerns about gendered violence, both offline and online. The prevalence of child marriages in economically challenged communities further compounds these issues.
Despite ongoing efforts by civil society, opportunities for advocacy and participation in decision-making are shrinking. Women human rights defenders, including those working on gender justice, LGBTI rights, and ethnic minority issues, face harassment, threats, and surveillance due to their activism. In 2021, the country's top administrative court ruled that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had the right to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, which aims to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence. This decision was based on the assertion that the convention threatened family values and normalised homosexuality.
While Turkey has taken steps to address gender discrimination through legislative reforms, the implementation and enforcement of laws protecting women's rights remain inconsistent. Patriarchal cultural norms continue to limit women's autonomy and restrict their role in public life. Conservative political forces have also threatened recent gains, seeking to roll back protections for women. Overall, while the legal framework for gender equality has improved in Turkey, social, economic, and political barriers impede the full realisation of women's rights. Stronger political commitment and more rigorous enforcement of existing laws are needed to translate these principles into practice.