Turkey

Maternal Health and Domestic Issues

Since 1983, Turkish women have legally had the right to use birth control, and in 2003, 71 percent were exercising this right, predominantly in the west. The average number of births per woman is 3.86 by the mean age of 28, varying from below two children in the urban west, to above three in the east, where they are born to mothers of younger ages, with marriage occurring from the age of 15; the fertility rate was 2.18 in 2006. Prenatal care is more available in the west, and 83 percent of births are attended by skilled personnel. Infant mortality is around 22.6 percent. The Association in Support of Contemporary Living works to help women exercise their rights in such vital issues.

The overall divorce rate in 2006 was 1.28 percent. Divorce in the east is highly unusual, even for physical abuse or unfaithfulness; traditionally, Turkish men assume the right to beat their wife, and there are shelters for battered women in all provinces. According to the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), despite the fact that the Turkish constitution was amended in 2002 to specify equality among spouses in marriage, domestic violence against women remains widespread and government response is inadequate. As many as 90 percent of women report experiencing violence, and few report it to authorities because such complaints are often not taken seriously and will not offer protection against retaliation by the husband. Funding for women's shelters is inadequate, and many regions have no shelters at all. The problem is worst in the southeast region, where an estimated 10 percent of women are in polygamous marriages (which is illegal), and honor killings still occur.

Unwed mothers are a relatively unknown or perhaps hidden category in Turkey; even the loss of virginity may still be punished by family members in eastern areas, where the honor issue is frequently highlighted in the media. A family death sentence is assigned to sexually active girls or even rape victims; the law to have the rapist marry his victim has only recently been abandoned.

Education and Employment

Literacy in Turkey is represented by a rate of 80.4 percent of women, compared with 96 percent of men. Women's probability of entering paid employment increases with their educational level. If agriculture work is included, women's employment is high, but such work gains them few rights. The number of women in paid employment has actually been [Page 1219]dropping below 30 percent since 1999. In 2006, the employment-to-population ratio for women age 15 and older was 25.0, as opposed to 68.5 for men of that age group. Professional women, including those in parliament, where women have been represented since 1935, are engaged in law, medicine, engineering, architecture, and education, including universities; Professor Tansu Çiller, mother of two, was the first woman Prime Minister from 1993–96.

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