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TURKISH WOMEN LEFT BEHIND AS COUNTRY PROGRESSES
Hurriyet Daily News
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Turkey continues to score an abysmal rank on the UNDP's Human
Development Index, despite an increase in Turkey's life expectancy
rates, literacy and gross national product over the past 27
years. Overall the country has slipped three places this year,
but specifically the role of women in society has earned the worst
mark. Turkey ranked 101 out of 109.
Despite progress in some vital indicators of a healthy society, the
role of women in Turkish society remains very low and the country
has regressed on the U.N. Human Development Index.
Turkey ranked 101 out of 109 countries in the 2009 Gender Empowerment
Measure, or GEM, released on Monday as a part of the United Nations
Development Programme, or UNDP's, Human Development Index.
Turkey dropped three places in this year's Human Development Index,
ranking 79 out of 182 countries, but the alarmingly low rank in the
Gender Equality Index is a strong indicator that the country has a
long way to go to empower women politically and economically in order
to achieve gender equality.
The GEM bases its rankings on indicators such as the active role
played by women in politics and the economy. The GEM was included in
the Human Development Index for the first time in 1995.
Despite an increase in Turkey's life expectancy rates, literacy and
gross national product over the past 27 years, the country continues
to be ranked low on the UNDP's Human Development Index. When spilt
into the four sections of extremely developed, developed, developing
and undeveloped, Turkey falls into the category of developed with Cuba
and Saudi Arabia, which are ahead of Turkey's neighbors Armenia and
Iran. But in the GEM results, Turkey is only ahead of Tonga, Morocco,
Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bangladesh and Yemen.
"The results demonstrate that Turkey is at a stand still, there are no
reforms being implemented to show development," said Pinar Ä°lkkaracan,
coo ~Ys Human Rights Foundation, in her result analysis. Ä°lkkaracan
said in the 2000s there have been significant changes to the Turkish
Penal Code and development toward gender equality, but today these
changes are not being taken forward. According to Ä°lkkaracan, the
issue of employment also needs to be addressed in order to progress
in the area of gender equality.
President of the Association to Support and Train Women Candidates,
or KADER, Hulya Gulbahar, said she was not at all surprised by
the figures, and said KADER had warned political parities ahead of
the local elections in March about the fact that in 39 out of 81
provinces in Turkey there was not one female member of the municipal
council. "Half of Turkey is being run without any female member of
council, and until this problem is solved the figures will not change,"
she said.
The Human Development Index considers factors such as poverty,
gender, democracy, human rights, cultural liberty, globalization,
water scarcity and climate change. In the poverty index, Turkey is
ranked 40 out of 135 countries, in the under 40's mortality rate it was
ranked 50, and in the literacy index it ranked 77. The lowest-ranked
position for Turkey was in the gender empowerment measure.
Hurriyet Daily News
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Turkey continues to score an abysmal rank on the UNDP's Human
Development Index, despite an increase in Turkey's life expectancy
rates, literacy and gross national product over the past 27
years. Overall the country has slipped three places this year,
but specifically the role of women in society has earned the worst
mark. Turkey ranked 101 out of 109.
Despite progress in some vital indicators of a healthy society, the
role of women in Turkish society remains very low and the country
has regressed on the U.N. Human Development Index.
Turkey ranked 101 out of 109 countries in the 2009 Gender Empowerment
Measure, or GEM, released on Monday as a part of the United Nations
Development Programme, or UNDP's, Human Development Index.
Turkey dropped three places in this year's Human Development Index,
ranking 79 out of 182 countries, but the alarmingly low rank in the
Gender Equality Index is a strong indicator that the country has a
long way to go to empower women politically and economically in order
to achieve gender equality.
The GEM bases its rankings on indicators such as the active role
played by women in politics and the economy. The GEM was included in
the Human Development Index for the first time in 1995.
Despite an increase in Turkey's life expectancy rates, literacy and
gross national product over the past 27 years, the country continues
to be ranked low on the UNDP's Human Development Index. When spilt
into the four sections of extremely developed, developed, developing
and undeveloped, Turkey falls into the category of developed with Cuba
and Saudi Arabia, which are ahead of Turkey's neighbors Armenia and
Iran. But in the GEM results, Turkey is only ahead of Tonga, Morocco,
Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bangladesh and Yemen.
"The results demonstrate that Turkey is at a stand still, there are no
reforms being implemented to show development," said Pinar Ä°lkkaracan,
coo ~Ys Human Rights Foundation, in her result analysis. Ä°lkkaracan
said in the 2000s there have been significant changes to the Turkish
Penal Code and development toward gender equality, but today these
changes are not being taken forward. According to Ä°lkkaracan, the
issue of employment also needs to be addressed in order to progress
in the area of gender equality.
President of the Association to Support and Train Women Candidates,
or KADER, Hulya Gulbahar, said she was not at all surprised by
the figures, and said KADER had warned political parities ahead of
the local elections in March about the fact that in 39 out of 81
provinces in Turkey there was not one female member of the municipal
council. "Half of Turkey is being run without any female member of
council, and until this problem is solved the figures will not change,"
she said.
The Human Development Index considers factors such as poverty,
gender, democracy, human rights, cultural liberty, globalization,
water scarcity and climate change. In the poverty index, Turkey is
ranked 40 out of 135 countries, in the under 40's mortality rate it was
ranked 50, and in the literacy index it ranked 77. The lowest-ranked
position for Turkey was in the gender empowerment measure.