VZCZCXRO7873
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAK #6502 3281444
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 241444Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0064
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKDAI/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J-3/J-5//
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU//TCH//
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEUITH/TLO ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/TSR ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/USDAO ANKARA TU

UNCLAS ANKARA 006502 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE TU
SUBJECT: TURKISH NGO'S ENERGIZED AND ORGANIZED TO PROMOTE 
WOMEN'S RIGHTS 
 
REF: STATE 178055 
 
1.(U) Summary:  On November 13, we discussed the Secretary's 
Women's Empowerment Working Session fact sheet 
recommendations with representative's from KADER and Flying 
Broom -- two prominent Turkish Women's Rights NGOs.  Both 
groups enthusiastically received the recommendations, and 
plan to circulate them to a wider audience where they hope 
they will spark additional ideas.  Post will continue our 
cooperative dialogue with women's rights' groups to pursue 
the Working Session recommendations as well as other creative 
opportunities to help empower women.  End summary. 
 
2.(U) The Association for Supporting and Training Women 
Candidates ("KADER") is a 14,000 member strong Turkish NGO 
that was founded in 1997 to increase women's participation in 
politics by campaigning to remove economic, social and 
legislative barriers to female candidates.  KADER's Head of 
International Relations, Dr. Selma Acuner, told us that she 
is pleased that the Secretary's Working Session fact-sheet 
stressed the importance of KADER's "bread-and-butter issue" 
of increasing female participation in politics at a high 
level.  Acuner told us that she would contact us with any 
additional ideas KADER may be able to pursue once her fellow 
KADER directors have reviewed the fact-sheet. 
 
3.(U) We also presented the fact sheet recommendations to 
Halime Guner, the President of Flying Broom, an NGO founded 
in 1996 to improve women's rights in Turkey.  Flying Broom 
works uses many means to advance its broad agenda, including 
participation in numerous international conferences, and 
partnering with women's groups in all of Turkey's 81 
provinces to conduct women's rights education campaigns.  The 
Embassy's public affairs office is working with Flying Broom 
to provide support for the group's flagship event -- the 
Ankara International Women's Film Festival.  For next year's 
10th festival, Flying Broom expects to attract independent 
films on women's issues from over twenty countries.  Flying 
Broom agreed to review the fact sheet recommendations 
thoroughly and continue to share their ideas on how to best 
advance women's rights. 
 
4.(U) Comment:  Turkish women's rights NGOs are organized, 
active, and growing in Turkey.  Although their work has 
helped begin the difficult process of changing societal 
attitudes, the number of females in higher political office 
(approximately 4% of parliamentarians are female) shows that 
much work remains.  End comment. 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON