Women candidates in Turkey face growing hurdles across political spectrum

ISTANBUL — A nondescript apartment in Istanbul’s business district is the nerve center of a drive to propel more women into Turkish politics. 

But as some 61 million voters in Turkey prepare to cast their ballots in presidential and parliamentary elections, the mood at the office of Ben Secerim, or I Choose, is one of disappointment. 

The NGO was established two years ago to boost female participation in politics, specifically to find suitable candidates to stand for parliament. 

Last month, Ben Secerim unveiled 20 women who represent four parties in the May 14 legislative election. However, due to the nature of the election process — votes for parties are allocated to candidates according to their placement on ranked party lists — just four stand any real hope of entering the Turkish Grand National Assembly. 

“It’s very disappointing for us,” said Nilden Bayazit, president of Ben Secerim. “There’s a wall for women candidates even in more liberal parties. It shows there are still many blocks on women and they don’t want to change that.” 

Something here about their 20 vs. larger numbers two grafs down? 

The wider picture is similarly discouraging for those seeking greater female representation in a country where national women’s suffrage was introduced in 1934. 

Of their 600 parliamentary candidates, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has nominated 113 women, while the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has selected 156 — ratios of 18.8% and 26% respectively. The Workers’ Party of Turkey (TIP) is fielding the highest proportion of female candidates at 40.5%. 

Looking at the number of highly-placed women on party lists offers an even bleaker prospect for women’s role in mainstream politics. The CHP has women ranked first on its list in just 11 of Turkey’s 87 electoral districts, while the AKP has four. 

The under-representation of women is not unique to Turkey. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, women form half or more of the lawmakers in just five countries. Turkey comes 132nd in the world, with 17.4% of the deputies elected in 2018 being women. 

Some have pointed to patriarchal societies as the main barrier to women joining politics, but evidence in Turkey suggests such attitudes have eased. 

In research carried out by Ben Secerim and the polling firm KONDA last year, 62% of respondents said that female politicians would help Turkey become a better society. A similar number supported mandatory quotas for women in political parties. Nearly three-quarters said they would support a woman from their family entering politics. 

“The issue of female politicians is not just a matter of equal representation; a female politician is needed for a democratic society, for justice, to solve the climate problem, to end corruption, to transform education policies and to regulate family policies,” Bayazit said. 

Turkish women have long been at the forefront of campaigning on social issues. International Women’s Day on March 8 sees thousands flood the streets to call for equality and rights, often in the face of police riot shields and tear gas. 

Turkey’s 2021 withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention on protecting women against violence and more recent threats to roll back anti-discrimination legislation have further solidified women’s engagement. 

However, civil activism has largely failed to translate into female participation in party politics. 

“In Turkey, women have become more visible in the public sphere and have started to increase their influence. We see this especially in the field of civil society,” said Elmas Arus, a CHP parliamentary candidate for Istanbul. 

“There are not many directly [sitting] in the parliament but since it is in the field of civil society, [women] have started to direct policies in some way.” 

Lawyer Sibel Piskin is standing for the opposition Iyi Party in Kirklareli, one of 20 Turkish provinces to have never had a woman in parliament. She is placed second on the party’s list, despite research showing her to be a well-respected figure in the region, so is unlikely to succeed. 

“I was not elected because I was in the second place in the [2018] election and I am in the second place again,” she said. “Of course, there is a loss of motivation. Society is ready for female politicians and they think that the country will go to a better place with female politicians.” 

Many believe the male-dominated hierarchy of most political parties is a major obstruction to women. 

“It is the party organs that are decisive in the nomination of women and unfortunately women are not sufficiently included in the party organs,” said Arus. “We see women and young people actively working in women’s branches or youth branches — it is as if they have been given such a space. Since women are not in decision-making positions, male-dominated politics continues.” 

Arus, who is from Turkey’s Roma minority and heads the Zero Discrimination Association, pointed to a number of influential women in politics – former Prime Minister Tansu Ciller; Iyi Party leader Meral Aksener; Canan Kaftancioglulu, head of the CHP in Istanbul; and deputy CHP leader Selin Sayek Boke. 

“They know the pulse of politics and they lead the people,” she said. “Parties need a change of mindset. What will pave the way for women in politics is a change of mentality from the organs that make up the party towards the delegates.” 

Arus called for a change to electoral law, citing the example of Rwanda, where a quota paved the way for the current count of 61% of parliamentary seats occupied by women, the highest in the world. 

“A fight against gender discrimination, which prevents women from accessing political leadership, is also essential,” she added. “Legal and political mechanisms that fight discrimination need to be implemented to increase women’s presence in politics.”