CHP leader pledges to reinstate Istanbul Convention

ANKARA

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on March 8 pledged to reintroduce Istanbul Convention if his party comes to power.

“We heartily embrace all our citizens. We promise them a beautiful Turkey. We want to live in a Turkey where we will be together in pain and joy, where there is no discrimination between men and women, where no one is marginalized…The Istanbul Convention will definitely come into force,” he said, addressing the CHP’s parliament group meeting.

Emphasizing the occasion of International Working Women’s Day on March 8, Kılıçdaroğlu said women in Turkey has been suffering in daily life.

“Women suffer from life, but they also know how to embrace life with resistance and overcome difficulties. We want women to take a strong place in all areas of life,” he said.

Kılıçdaroğlu called for women quota in the parliament. “Let the parliament be half female and half male. Let’s change the law on political parties, let the structure of the parliament show our population structure,” he stated.

The CHP leader was critical of the Turkish government’s management of the economy. It is women who most experience the problem of economy, he said.

“Turkey needs to get rid of this painful picture quickly,” he said while calling for snap elections.

“The fate of Turkey will change, the fate of men and women will change together” after the elections, Kılıçdaroğlu said.

The CHP leader also said he would visit the southeastern province of Diyarbakır and talk about the economy while addressing farmers.