Women's rights on the line in Turkey

The Ottawa Citizen
Women's rights on the line in Turkey
Harry Sterling
August 1, 2014

Could attitudes about a visible tattoo on a woman’s body or tight fitting jeans possibly influence the outcome of a close election? It’s a question which increasingly preoccupies many in Turkey, especially women who’ve fought for equal rights for decades in a male dominated society.

Such concerns have increased dramatically recently as Turkish voters have their first opportunity to directly elect their country’s president on Aug. 10.

For many Turks, especially female voters, Aug. 10 will not just be about choosing a new president. In a very real sense it could become a referendum on what kind of society Turkey is to become. And that reality could have important consequences for all members of an increasingly divided nation with two opposing viewpoints regarding what kind of society Turkey should be.

One favours the kind of society originally imposed by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and another which, although not unaware of the economic benefits brought by the secular society established by Ataturk, wants to re-establish the values and role of the Muslim religion within society, including the role of women....

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