Women’s Party established in Turkey

Turkish women form party aimed at creating a quota system to equalize the number of men and women in national politics.

Women’s Party established in Turkey
The Women’s Party has been formally established in Turkey, its leader Benal Yazgan has said. An official application to establish the party, which aims to increase women's involvement in Turkish politics, was made to the Interior Ministry on 25 June, Yazgan said on Friday.

“The party has submitted its application to the ministry, which means we have established the party,” Yazgan told Anadolu Agency. 

She said the main cause for the creation of the party was the lack of participation by women in Turkish politics and decision-making processes.

There are currently just 77 female deputies among 550 legislators in the Turkish Parliament.

The party aims to introduce a quota system in local and general elections until men and women are equally represented, the party said in a press release.

In recent municipal elections on 30 March, only 12 cities elected female mayors, six of whom will serve as co-mayors along with male counterparts.

Only three of the cities with female mayors are metropolitan municipalities with significant populations.

Turkey’s biggest city, Istanbul, has only one female mayor out of 40 total district mayors.

The creation of the party is the second initiative by Turkish women to establish a party representing women.

The National Women’s Party was founded in 1972. However, it could not open sufficient offices around the country and closed after the 1980 military coup.

Nezihe Muhiddin, an early Turkish feminist, tried to form a women’s political party in 1923, just after the foundation of the Turkish Republic.

But her application was turned down due to legal restrictions preventing women from taking part in politics. The law was revised in the 1930s.
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