The number of women in Turkey’s parliament has declined precipitously, according to unofficial tallies in the aftermath of the Justice and Development party’s (AKP) sweeping victory in snap elections.
Unofficial results published in Turkish media showed that the number of female deputies had dropped from 95 after the June parliamentary elections to 81.
Figures published by the Reuters news agency showed a more significant decline, with just 77 female MPs elected.
The decline is attributed to the disappointing performance of the pro-Kurdish opposition party, the HDP, which fielded a significant number of female candidates but saw its share of the vote decline from 13% to just over 10%.
Turkey’s constitution guarantees gender equality but does not require political parties to nominate a quota of female candidates, although some have done so. International observers of the Turkish elections said that just under a quarter of candidates on party lists were women, arguing that they “remain under-represented in political life.”
The conservative, ruling AKP will only have 34 female lawmakers in the legislature out of 317 seats secured by the party – just one in 10 of the party’s deputies.
“Although we tried to change the face of the parliament by increasing female representation, sadly we failed as a result of the system’s male-dominated policies,” said HDP female lawmaker Filiz Kerestecioglu in a statement quoted by Reuters. “For all the women of Turkey, being active in politics is still a big challenge.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a devout Muslim who founded the AKP, has often been criticised for controversial comments on women’s rights. In a speech a year ago, he declared that women were not equal to men and said feminists did not accept the concept of motherhood.
Along with political participation, human rights organisations have urged the government to tackle issues such as domestic violence. A report published in March by the Human Rights Association in Turkey said that 335 women died and 789 were injured over the preceding year due to domestic violence.
International observers from the 57-state OSCE and the Council of Europe said: “Women played an active role in the campaign, although they remain under-represented in political life. While the constitution guarantees gender equality, there are no special legal obligations for the parties to nominate women candidates.”
