VZCZCXRO5016
PP RUEHIK
DE RUEHAK #1833/01 3580947
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 240947Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1558
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL PRIORITY 6686
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001833 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR EUR/SE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: DIVERSE WOMEN LEADERS FIND COMMON GROUND 
 
REF: STATE 120322 
 
ANKARA 00001833  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  The Charge d'Affaires hosted a lunch 
December 17 to honor individuals at the forefront of 
eliminating violence against women.  The event brought 
together prominent female parliamentarians, academics, NGO 
leaders, think-tank analysts, and activists.  It prompted 
broad discussion from different ideological viewpoints on 
women's issues, and came to consensus on the major issues 
facing women in Turkey today: education, employment, and 
political participation.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Education 
--------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) During a luncheon hosted by the Charge d'Affaires on 
December 17, education stood out as one of the most pressing 
problems for women in Turkey.  The academics in the group 
stated that many women who are living in big cities have easy 
access to some type of education.  However, women who are 
living in small cities and towns do not have the same access. 
 Our contacts underlined that although the data reflecting 
female enrollment in primary education seems high, the 
drop-out rate of female students is also very high.  These 
uneducated women often are unaware of their basic legal 
rights and are easily swayed by cultural pressure from their 
communities and families.  Our contacts criticized the 
government's promotion of female education as insufficient 
and stated that most successful projects have been done by 
NGOs.  Participants claimed that these organizations do not 
receive enough support or funding from the government. 
 
Employment 
---------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Our contacts indicated that the number of women in 
the government only constitutes 24 percent of 
the workforce.  The number of women working in the private 
sector is much lower.  According to the participants, the 
major factors that affect the low employment rates of women 
are: the male-dominated 
cultural structure, social focus on the women's role in the 
family as the caregiver, and the Government's statements and 
messages about women as a dependent family member rather than 
as an individual who shares the responsibility of the 
family's income.  Prime Minister Erdogan's recent public 
advice to women that they need to have at least three 
children received harsh criticism from some at the table, and 
sparked a heated debate between members of the ruling Justice 
and Development Party (AKP -- Erdogan's party) and the more 
secular participants.  They all agreed, however, that the 
government need to publish messages that empower women, both 
within the family and in public life. 
 
Women in Politics 
----------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Another problem for women in Turkey is the low rate 
of representation in the parliament and within municipal 
governments.  The NGO members stated that they have been 
fighting for this issue for many years.  However, there is 
only so much they can do without help from the government. 
The election laws need major revisions, they said, but none 
of the political parties are willing to take the initiative 
on this issue.  As a result, the percentage of women in the 
parliament is only 9.1 percent and the percentage of women 
who serve in local governments is as low as 0.05 percent. 
The female MPs at the luncheon complained that they often 
receive biased comments from their male counterparts, such as 
"Sister, why are you here? Go home and take care of your 
children."  This prompted some rueful smiles around the 
table.  Our guests agreed that the election laws urgently 
need to be revised, a quota system should be implemented, and 
their male counterparts should be trained on sensitivity to 
gender equality issues. 
 
There is a Hope 
--------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Despite improvements moving at a snail's pace, our 
guests stated they are still optimistic about the future of 
women in Turkey.  They applauded former State Minister for 
Women's Affairs Nimet Cubukcu's effort to open women's 
shelters in provinces that have a population of fifty 
 
ANKARA 00001833  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
thousand or more.  All of our guests also stated that the 
government has taken bold steps on women's issues during 
Turkey's EU accession reforms.  State Minister for EU Affairs 
Egemen Bagis has hired nine female directors for the EU 
General Secretariat.  Parliament has approved the opening of 
a new Equal Opportunity Commission for Women and Men during 
the accession process, which was seen as the product of a 
decades-long struggle by women activists.  Participants said 
that their active lobbying in Europe and collaborative work 
in Turkey also paid off during the EU accession reforms 
process.  Turkey's 2009 EU Progress report reflected 85 
percent of their comments on women's issues in Turkey. 
Although they were encouraged by these developments, there is 
still a lot more to do. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The lunch actually began with some tension.  Two of 
our guests -- a woman wearing a headscarf and another woman 
from the AKP -- were not welcomed by the secular women 
activists and academics, who literally turned their back to 
them when they arrived.  However, it did not seem to take 
long for all the guests to realize that they were all 
fighting for the same women's issues.  The lunch discussion 
allowed these divergent groups, who normally do not 
communicate with one another, to open up lines of 
communication.  We were pleased to see that by the end of the 
lunch, the most secular women and the conservative women who 
wore head scarves were exchanging cards and chatting 
animatedly.  Indeed, they continued their lively discussion 
outside, despite the rain.  There may be a long way to go for 
equality between women and men in Turkey, but the vibrant 
debate among women bodes well. 
SILLIMAN 
 
           "Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.s 
gov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turkey"