Around 1.4 million women seeking jobs in Turkey: CHP leader

ANKARA

More than 1.4 million women have pending applications for jobs with the employment agency, the main opposition leader has said, criticizing the government for not doing enough to create jobs and acting in line with the social state principle of the Turkish constitution.

“The total number of women who are waiting to be recruited exceeds 1.4 million. Women want to work and produce,” Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), told his parliamentary group on March 9.

He devoted his lengthy address to International Women’s Day that was celebrated in the country on March 8.

The CHP will continue to fight against an ideology that sees women as second-class citizens and will endorse societal gender equality, Kılıçdaroğlu said. “What do women want? They want societal gender equality in every field of life,” he stated.

The women also want equal wages and equal jobs, as well as job security, but the government is not paying attention to the calls of the women, the main opposition leader said.

“They also want to join trade unions and become stronger. Another thing they demand is the implementation of the principle of the social state of the constitution. They want nurseries in every government office so that they can work comfortably,” he suggested.

They also want an equal participation in politics, Kılıçdaroğlu said. “We have signed a draft bill to impose a 50 percent quota for women. More women should be in politics,” he said.

Kılıçdaroğlu also mentioned an assault against an opposition journalist, Levent Gültekin. “A physical assault against a journalist is a blow on our democracy. It’s not acceptable. If these kinds of attacks can happen and the perpetrators can walk away freely just days after the announcement of a Human Rights Action Plan, that shows that this plan has no meaning at all,” he stated.