{"id":280255,"date":"2025-12-05T06:59:05","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T06:59:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/?p=280255"},"modified":"2025-12-05T06:59:05","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T06:59:05","slug":"the-practice-of-turkish-politics-women-win-the-ballot-box-men-win-the-chair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/the-practice-of-turkish-politics-women-win-the-ballot-box-men-win-the-chair\/","title":{"rendered":"The Practice of Turkish Politics: Women Winning the Ballot Box, Men Winning the Chair"},"content":{"rendered":"

December 5th...<\/p>\n

Somewhere in the world, a revolutionary woman, Olympe de Gouges, realizes that the word \u201cman\u201d in the Declaration of the Rights of Man really refers only to \u201cman\u201d and takes up the pen...<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the world, Atat\u00fcrk granted women the right to vote and be elected in 1934, a right not yet discussed in many European countries.<\/p>\n

Today is both International Women's Rights Day and the anniversary of Turkish women gaining the right to vote and be elected.<\/p>\n

So today is the day to remember the debt that humanity and the Republic owe to women.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Olympe de Gouges, Woman of Revolutions and the First Declaration of Women's Rights<\/h3>\n

Olympe de Gouges.<\/p>\n

A woman born in 1748.<\/p>\n

In 1789, when the French Revolution proclaimed the \u2019Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen\u201c, a conscience realized that women were excluded from this definition of \u201dhuman being\u201c.<\/p>\n

In 1791, she published the Declaration of the Rights of Women and Citizens, the first declaration of women's rights in history.
\nShe opened the horizons not only for women but also for humanity.<\/p>\n

But the price was heavy.
\nThe male mind of the revolution did not tolerate criticism.
\nIn 1793 he was guillotined.<\/p>\n

Olympe asked the question not only of her time but also of today:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf rights belong to humanity, why are women ignored?\u201d<\/p>\n

This question is still relevant in 2025.<\/p>\n

The Republican Revolution Turkey Ahead of the World in 1934<\/h3>\n

On December 5, 1934, Turkey granted women the right to vote and be elected.
\nWhere was the world at that time?<\/p>\n

France:<\/strong> 1944<\/p>\n

Italy:<\/strong> 1945<\/p>\n

Greece:<\/strong> 1952<\/p>\n

Belgium:<\/strong> 1960<\/p>\n

Switzerland:<\/strong> 1971<\/p>\n

So Turkey did this before many European countries.<\/p>\n

At the time, there were 28 countries in the world that legally recognized this right, and only 17 that actually exercised it.<\/p>\n

Turkey made history in 1934.
\nToday it is overshadowed by that history.<\/p>\n

Turkey in 2025: A Country to Blush<\/h3>\n

Kad\u0131nlar\u0131n i\u015f g\u00fcc\u00fcne kat\u0131l\u0131m\u0131 %36.
\n30 points behind the OECD average.<\/p>\n

\u00dcst d\u00fczey y\u00f6neticiler aras\u0131nda kad\u0131n oran\u0131 %20 bile de\u011fil.
\nThere is no glass ceiling in this country; there is a concrete ceiling.<\/p>\n

Politics
\nOut of 600 MPs, only 121 are women.
\nOran: %20.<\/p>\n

A pioneer in 1934, Turkey today ranks 124th out of 149 countries in terms of women's political representation.<\/p>\n

So it is not behind the world; it is far behind the world.<\/p>\n

This is no coincidence.
\nThis is the silent consensus of male politics.<\/p>\n

Women's Rights under AKP Rule: Distribution of Roles, Not Rights<\/h3>\n

The AKP government's women policy is clear:
\nWomen are not \u201cequal citizens\u201d but \u201cpart of the family.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Istanbul Convention has been abandoned.
\nImpunity in femicides has become routine.
\nWomen were again the first victims of economic crises.<\/p>\n

Even quotas to increase women's place in politics were presented as a \u201cblessing\u201d.<\/p>\n

In this country, women's rights are still not a right in the eyes of the government; they are a gesture.<\/p>\n

Situation on the CHP Front: Equality Strong in Rhetoric, Weak at the Ballot Box<\/h3>\n

The opposition wing is not very bright either.<\/p>\n

The CHP talks about equality at every opportunity, but when it comes to the list, women again find themselves at the back of the list.<\/p>\n

The claim for democracy in Turkey starts with internal party democracy.
\nChanging the color of the seat is easy; changing the color of the mindset is difficult.<\/p>\n

The government is narrowing women's rights.
\nThe opposition does not dare to expand it.<\/p>\n

Conclusion.
\nWomen are struggling for representation, caught between two sides.<\/p>\n

December 5: Not a Celebration, but a Reminder<\/h3>\n

Today, unfortunately, is not a day of celebration.
\nToday is a day to remember how politics has minimized the revolutionary rights given to women by the Republic.<\/p>\n

Women are called to the ballot box, but not to the chair.
\nThe vote is very valuable; representation is not.<\/p>\n

A society cannot stand up without empowering its women.
\nAn economy cannot grow by ignoring women's labor.
\nA politics cannot be democratic by excluding women.<\/p>\n

Epilogue: Courage Was Present in 1934; Missing Today<\/h3>\n

As Olympe de Gouges said on the way to the guillotine:<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen wake up; you have rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was the spirit of December 5, 1934.
\nToday's politics does not even come close to that spirit.<\/p>\n

The women of Turkey did not borrow their rights from history; they won them through struggle.
\nAnd he'll never give it back.<\/p>\n

Equality is a condition of the Republic, not an ornament.
\nThe courage to fulfill that condition was there in 1934.
\nIt has to happen today.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, December 5th will not be a day celebrated every year, but a confrontation repeated every year.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Equality is a condition of the Republic, not an ornament. The courage to fulfill that condition existed in 1934. It has to be there today.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":280257,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[286],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-280255","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-yazarlar"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280255"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":280258,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280255\/revisions\/280258"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}