Dean resigns after saying he ‘will not vote for women’ in Turkey’s local elections

KONYA

The dean of a university in Turkey’s Central Anatolian province of Konya has resigned after public outcry following his statement that he “will not be voting for any woman” during the March 2019 local elections.

“I am declaring it here: I oppose some policies regarding family life. Raising a good child, being a good housewife is much more necessary than being a minister, mayor or successful businesswoman. I will not vote for any woman mayoral candidate in the local elections,” Necmettin Erbakan University’s Aviation and Space Sciences Faculty dean Prof. Dr. Mehmet Karalı had said in a tweet earlier this week.

The tweet was slammed by thousands of social media users as sexist and offensive, which led Karalı to delete it eventually. “I am withdrawing my tweet because I was uncomfortable that it was used to discuss different subjects,” the dean had said in a fresh tweet, which also failed to stop reactions.

Finally, Karalı announced in another tweet on Nov. 21 that he resigned from his position as the faculty dean. He claimed that his view should have been respected in the scope of free expression, but it was “taken out of context” and started to “harm the university and the city” of Konya. “The responsibility of my office prevents me to respond to the harsh criticism I face, so I am resigning from my administrative duties,” he said.