Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-02-12-Speech-1-135"
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"en.20070212.15.1-135"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in two days’ time, it will be Valentine’s Day, day of love and affection. I could not imagine a nicer Valentine’s present for women in Turkey than the adoption, tomorrow, of the report on women’s rights.
There are 40 million women in Turkey. They want to be given the opportunity of developing and improving their living conditions. My report alone will not be able to bring this about, but it is a means for the women and the women’s movement in Turkey to claim their rights in respect of their husbands and their fathers, the Turkish Government, but also the European Union.
My report is building on last year’s findings. I have taken note of what has happened since then and what has not. Legislation, by and large, is now as it should be, even though a few things still need to be done in that area. The second step is creating a framework in which legislation can be implemented, that is to say sufficient funds and a well-trained government apparatus, with a government that shows sufficient commitment and is not afraid of making that commitment public. Only if the second step has been taken can we move on properly to the third step, when women notice improvement in their daily lives – a step which we have not yet reached. People are still working very hard on step two, and that is why women are still seeing little in the way of practical improvements to date, although the government is committed. Whilst two years ago, women’s rights were not yet really an issue, these days, Prime Minister Erdogan opens nearly every speech with it. The different ministries too devote more attention to women’s rights. Our report of last year has contributed to this, and we in this House should be proud of this.
There are also better government instructions to officials and police on how to deal with women’s rights. The police and the army are being trained and memos contain clear instructions for ministries and municipalities. These instructions, which are desperately needed, focus on blood feuds and violence against women. Indeed, the number of sentences that have been passed with regard to blood feuds is still giving a mixed picture. Some judges are tougher in their sentencing, while others are more lenient. This has got to stop.
The report also contains other areas that need attention. Fighting violence against women must be priority number one in government policy for women. More refuge centres must be created which I intend to visit so as to monitor whether these places of safety meet the quality requirements. This year, a committee on women’s rights and gender equality must be set up in the Turkish Parliament. A committee of this kind is indispensable if legislation is to take real account of gender issues, and is also an important and essential interlocutor for the European Parliament and the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly. More objective and accurate data are needed about the situation of women in Turkey, particularly in relation to violence, illiteracy and discrimination. Fortunately, this is an area that is being addressed by Turkey and the Commission together. Finally, there is a need for proper anti-discrimination policy if women are to be given full access to education and the labour market.
I should like to make a brief comment about one compromise amendment that has been jointly tabled by the European People’s Party, the Socialists, the Liberals and the European United Left, and about which I am sure you have received a huge number of letters. It is about the use of the words ‘Kurdish minority’ in the report. Kurds themselves, as well as the Turkish Government, have indicated that they have difficulty accepting these words. In order to avoid confusion, we have now decided to say that all women, irrespective of their race, language, origin, religion or political persuasion, must have access to women’s rights programmes. In this light, I would urge you to support the compromise amendment.
Ladies and gentlemen, 2007 will be an important test for Turkey to see how seriously this country is taking women’s emancipation. That country has parliamentary elections coming up in November. Far too few women are taking part in politics at the moment. It is not that they are not there. Only two weeks ago, I spoke with women of nearly all political parties, but their names are not yet included in the electoral lists. How Turkey solves this, is up to Turkey. If, however, the political participation of women does not increase, then Turkey will not be able to say that it did not know what to do. The report contains suggestions, including temporary measures of positive discrimination. Temporary, because I am convinced that once women become more visible in politics, this will have a snowball effect. Girls need role models so that they can see that they too may be able to carve out a career in politics.
I am hopeful for women in Turkey. The country is moving in the right direction, but should not backpedal. This is why I would make a plea for accelerating the implementation of reforms, and also for actually carrying them out. The accession negotiations with the EU can work as a catalyst in this respect. I hope that our report will be able to do its bit. I would like to thank you all for your support in advance. I am persuaded that the women in Turkey will also be indebted to you."@en1
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