This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ISTANBUL 001080 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM PREL TU XD XF XI
SUBJECT: DEMOCRACY ASSISTANCE DIALOGUE COMES TO LIFE IN 
ISTANBUL,  LIVES UP TO ITS NAME 
 
REF: A. ANKARA 0789 
     ¶B. ANKARA 2191 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  A June 20-21 Istanbul symposium within 
the framework of the Democracy Assistance Dialogue (DAD) 
focused on "Empowering Women in Public Life and Democratic 
Development in the BMENA Region."  At this first 
issue-focused DAD activity, nearly 100 NGO and government 
representatives exchanged experiences and agreed on the 
need for increased research about regional women's issues, 
the importance of quotas in increasing women's political 
participation, and the key roles education and economic 
empowerment play in fostering women's participation in 
public life.  Participants agreed no religion justifies 
women holding a lower place in society, but religion is 
often manipulated to this effect.  Event organizers plan to 
bring the group together again for an event that will 
result in an action platform for governments to consider. 
End summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) The June 20-21 symposium was jointly organized by 
the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV), 
a leading Turkish think-tank, and Turkey's Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs (MFA).  The conference agenda focused on 
three areas:  women's participation in political processes 
and public life, violence and its effect on women, and 
socio-economic issues. 
 
¶3.  (U) Held in Istanbul, the symposium brought together 
nearly 100 NGO and government representatives from 
countries including Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, 
Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, 
Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, West Bank/Gaza, and 
Yemen.  Also present in their capacity as DAD co-sponsors 
were representatives of the Turkish, Italian and Yemeni 
governments and DAD partner NGOs, No Peace Without Justice 
(Italy) and the Human Rights Information and Training 
Center (Yemen).  NEA DAS Scott Carpenter, two NEA staff 
members, and a National Endowment for Democracy (NED) 
representative also attended.  Media coverage of the event 
was positive and straightforward. 
 
Foreign Minister Gul:  Reforms Needed 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) In his opening address, Turkish Foreign Minister 
Abdullah Gul noted this was the first issue-focused meeting 
of the Democracy Assistance Dialogue.  He underlined 
Turkey's co-sponsorship of the DAD, and stressed that the 
initiative reflects the aspirations of people in the 
region.   Gul declared the Middle East is steadily falling 
behind the rest of the world, and political and economic 
reforms are needed to turn that around. 
 
Great Minds Think Alike...Most of the time 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶5.  (U) There was consensus around many issues at the 
conference, and agreement that, to a large extent, problems 
are the same everywhere.  Empowerment through legal changes 
and quotas to increase women's participation in parliament 
and local government, for example, with few exceptions, 
were endorsed as vital to women being able to achieve 
increased political power.  All agreed on the need for 
increased research and study into women's issues. 
Education and economic empowerment were also stressed as 
key to increasing women's participation in public life. 
Participants stressed that financing is needed for 
activities promoting political participation.  All agreed 
that no religion justifies women holding a lower place in 
society, but that religion is often manipulated to this 
effect. 
 
¶6.  (U) Despite agreement on the last point, it was clear 
over the two days that questions of religion affect and are 
interpreted differently by women in each country.  One 
Turkish participant noted, "On several occasions we have 
made ourselves 'the other'...some of us say we are 
feminists, some of us claim we're not; some think our 
bodies belong to us, some don't believe that."  On one 
panel featuring two Turkish women, one of them wearing a 
headscarf and the other uncovered, the women agreed that 
their partnership "must become healthier."  The uncovered 
participant complained that covered women had chosen not to 
demonstrate in front of Parliament during the women's 
movement's lobbying campaign on Turkey's new civil code, 
which allowed Prime Minister Erdogan to call the 
demonstrators "marginal."  The covered participant claimed 
that sometimes she felt under pressure from "feminists" and 
that tolerance was among the most important democratic 
values. 
 
Sharing Stories:  Political Participation 
------------------------------------------ 
¶7.  (U) Participants related a wide variety of experiences: 
 
-- Rola Dashti, Kuwaiti Defender of Voting Rights and the 
first chairperson of the Kuwaiti Economic Society spoke 
about the May 16 decision to allow participation of Kuwaiti 
women in politics beginning with 2007 elections.  (Note: 
Her presentation coincided with the oath of office of 
Kuwait's first female Cabinet minister in Kuwait City.  End 
note.)  Dashti herself plans to run in the 2007 elections. 
Those who oppose her, she said, attempt to label her as 
anti-religious, anti-patriotic, and harmful to family 
values.  She expressed dismay that she is called these 
things when fighting for her nation's increased 
prosperity. 
 
-- Amal Basha of the Sister Arab Forum of Yemen noted that 
there is only one woman MP among 300 men in the Yemeni 
parliament.  She spoke of a culture of fear in Yemen, and 
encouraged more dialogue between women. 
 
-- Pakistani attendees said they felt years ahead as they 
heard stories of others.  Shahida Jamil, former Pakistani 
Minister of Justice, commented from the audience on the 
participation of women in the Pakistani Parliament, where 
there are general seats open to all and reserved seats 
based on proportional representation.  There were 25 
reserved seats for women, but those had lapsed over 10 
years, before reserved spots for women were recently 
reinstated.  By law, one-third of the Pakistani local 
council members should be women; in 2001, 38,000 Pakistani 
women were elected at the local council level.  Three 
hundred women are in the legislature at the federal and 
provincial level. 
 
-- A Saudi academic related incremental progress.  She 
stated that since the U.S. had entered Iraq, there had been 
positive changes, including institutional reforms, less 
acceptance of radicalism, limited increased avenues for 
participation, increased visibility of certain issues in 
state media, and the presence of international media 
interested in women's issues. She related how Saudi women 
had asked for the right to actively participate in the 
country's recent local elections.  She stated that Saudi 
Arabia's election commission "had a hard time with us." 
Media and public pressure forced it to come out and say 
publicly that women could not participate, according to 
this academic, not because it was forbidden by law, but 
because there was "not enough time to arrange things, 
including segregation."  This procedural argument, she 
said, was easier to contest than legal or religious 
objections.  Speaking more generally, she explained that 
NGOs as we know them do not exist in Saudi Arabia.  In 2000 
Saudi Arabia signed the CEDAW, she added, but not one 
article had been implemented to date.  "International 
agreements are of no use to us," she said, asserting that 
the U.N. had not demanded reports on the condition of women 
in Saudi Arabia. 
 
Sharing Stories:  Violence and Socio-Economic Issues 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶8.  (U) In the panel addressing violence, Fatma Khafagy, 
Ombudsman for Violence against Women in Cairo, said 
one-third of Egyptian women are affected by violence and 
that a strategy must be developed to prevent this.  Nebahat 
Akkoc of Turkish NGO KAMER described the foundation of the 
organization in the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakir and 
outlined KAMER's main goals:  a job for every woman and 
effective assistance to women about how to resist 
violence.  KAMER is especially active in fighting so-called 
"honor killings" in southeast Turkey, and is one of the few 
independent civil society groups in that region. 
 
¶9.  (U) A representative of the Revolutionary Association 
of the Women in Afghanistan claimed life has not changed 
for many Afghan women since the fall of the Taliban, with 
violence against women continuing.  The following day, 
however, another Afghan participant acknowledged that while 
things are not perfect, many things have changed for the 
better.  "Four years ago I wouldn't have attended this 
conference as I would have been scared to death," she 
said.  A lively discussion followed the panel on violence, 
featuring a question about the relation of democracy to 
domestic violence, with a participant doubting there was 
less domestic violence in democratic countries.  Several 
women also mentioned female circumcision in their remarks, 
pointing out that men are not the only perpetrators of 
violence against women. 
 
¶10.  (U) On the socio-economic panel, a Yemeni NGO leader 
described how her organization has contributed to girls' 
education in a country where 67 percent of women are 
illiterate.  An Afghan NGO leader, who also focuses on 
education, pointed out that five years ago, less than 4000 
girls were studying in Afghanistan, and that was only 
happening in underground schools.  Today, she said, 5 
million girls were in school there and 3.2 million women 
voted.  She stressed the importance of bringing social 
change while respecting local traditions, cultures and 
religion.  A Pakistani participant stressed the need to 
bring the private sector into the DAD format, as the 
private sector is often helpful in breaking divides and 
what she called the "politics of polarization."  She 
prioritized the need for personal financial empowerment. 
 
¶11.  (U)  Rajaa Khuzai of the National Council for Women in 
Iraq proclaimed that freedom of speech had come to her 
country, and thus she had no fear to speak to such a 
symposium.  She highlighted the need to help the large 
number of widows that had been created by the wars in which 
Iraq was involved over the past 25 years.  She spoke of 
solidarity among women across the country, illustrating the 
point with the story of a Basrah request for a shelter spot 
that was met by "sisters in Iraqi Kurdistan" when a place 
was not available in Baghdad.  She highlighted the need for 
expanded networks and support systems for activists to 
share experience.  She also highly praised the 25% quota 
that had been instituted to promote women's participation 
in the Iraqi assembly, which led to women comprising 31% of 
its seats. 
 
Emma Bonino: Our Issues Are Not Marginal 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶12.  (U) In her closing remarks, European MP Emma Bonino 
stressed how she benefited from friends in the north 
decades ago when she was struggling for increased women's 
rights in Italy on issues like custody and divorce.  Having 
an international network of supporters lends one confidence 
and legitimacy, she said, especially when public opinion 
considers certain women's issues marginal compared to 
concerns such as poverty and the need for stability.  Time 
has proven that these issues are not marginal, she said. 
She stressed that while service-based social NGOs are 
necessary and important, from time to time "you have to go 
out and vote." Thus she asserted that the DAD should stay 
focused on political participation and participation in 
public life.  And once women achieve roles in politics and 
parliament, they must be trained to use their power.  She 
encouraged participants to reach out to one another after 
the conference, and to do things "with and for" each other. 
 
 
Regional, Not U.S. Imprint 
-------------------------- 
 
¶13.  (U) Comment:  Per reftel B, some in Turkish civil 
society planning the conference had initially questioned 
holding the symposium under the auspices of the DAD, but 
those doubts were overcome after NGOs learned more of 
Turkey's role in the DAD.  Indeed, outside of three 
comments on the first day suggesting that the United States 
must continue to hold to the values it is promoting in the 
region, there was very little mention at all during the 
symposium of the U.S., its role in promoting the BMENAI, or 
its experience with women's political participation. 
(Note:  Bonino did acknowledge the financial support for 
the conference by the U.S. and the U.K.  End note.)  The 
Turkish media at the conference focused almost exclusively 
on the individual women participants and their stories, 
resulting in interviews in print and on television of 
Kuwaiti Rola Dashti, Afghan activist Sahar Saba, and 
others. 
 
¶14.  (U)  Comment, cont'd: Participants were unanimous in 
their praise for the spirit of the event and the benefits 
derived from bringing together this network of accomplished 
leaders in the region.  Due to the size of the event and 
the sheer volume of information that each participant had 
to share, however, some stressed that the conference was 
too short, and/or that a format with more and smaller 
working groups and fewer panels would have been more 
productive.  Nevertheless, participants appreciated the 
quality and sophistication of their peers.  Organizers plan 
to build on this start by bringing the same group together 
again in a future activity that will result in an action 
platform for governments to consider. 
 
ARNETT