Ninety years ago, on Dec. 5, 1934, Türkiye decreed that women would have the right to vote and hold political office, some 11 years after the republic was founded.
Turkish women lawmakers are set to mark the 90th anniversary of a constitutional amendment that paved the way for women to exercise voting rights and to be elected into political offices, from municipal councils to Parliament.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Parliament Deputy Speaker Gülizar Biçer Karaca expressed gratitude to modern Türkiye’s founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk for paving the way to women’s suffrage while urging political parties to increase women’s representation in politics.
Since 1935, when 17 female lawmakers were elected into Parliament, Turkish women have come a long way in political representation.
But their numbers lagged in Parliament for decades and even dropped over the years. Indeed, until the 23rd session of the assembly that started in 2007, their percentage did not exceed 5%.
In the current composition after last year’s elections, female lawmakers hold 119 seats in the 600-seat Parliament.
Karaca called for the Political Parties Act to be amended in favor of women and for at least half of Parliament lawmakers to be made up of women, at more than 20%, compared to 17.1%. Women also comprise the bulk of the youngest lawmakers in the new Parliament.
“Increasing women’s political representation is the most valuable and libertarian regulation the six parties at Parliament can achieve,” Karaca argued, stressing the need to break the glass ceiling for women to have a say in social decision-making mechanisms.
Dec. 5, 1934, is also an important date for preventing discrimination and securing the right to equality, according to Leyla Şahin Usta, the deputy chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) parliamentary group.
“But Dec. 5, 1934, wasn’t enough to prevent discrimination,” Usta said, recalling the discrimination headscarf-wearing women faced in Türkiye in terms of the right to vote until 2015.
“Thanks to bold policies implemented by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, women earned the right to equal treatment fully in 2015,” Usta said.
The Green Left Party (YSP) has the highest number of female lawmakers compared to their total number in Parliament.
However, the AK Party has the highest number of female lawmakers in the legislative body at 50.
The main opposition is the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the YSP, which have 30 female lawmakers each, while the Good Party (IP) has six female lawmakers. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has four, while the Turkish Labor Party has one.
In 1930, Turkish women were granted suffrage in local elections held that year. Four years later, Turkish women were among the first in Europe to achieve the right to vote and run for elected office through a constitutional amendment. Since then, women have been active in national politics and founded the National Women’s Party of Türkiye in 1972 and the Women’s Party in 2014.
It is still a man’s game in the country, and although women have a relatively larger presence in Parliament, few women have been elected as mayors in 81 provinces.