Turkey

The country of Turkey extends across the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. The population in 2009 was estimated at 76,805,500. There is a considerable difference in the position of women and consequently in mothering between the highly populated western areas of Turkey and the depopulated eastern rural communities. Turkish women achieved civil liberties in 1926 after the Independence War, when polygamy was outlawed and inheritance laws made equal; they gained the right to vote and enter parliament in 1934. In western cities such as Istanbul, Izmir, and Ankara, women enjoy similar rights to those in Europe; however, the persistence of traditional social and religious family values means that while mothers are theoretically assigned a high value, in practice ...