Turkey’s first ‘women’s party’ to be established

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s first official 'women’s party' submitted a petition to the Interior Ministry on June 26 to be formally recognized as a political party.

Turkey's new Woman Party (Kadın Partisi) submitted a petition to the Interior Ministry to be formally registered as a political party on June 26. If the demand is accepted, it will become the country's first ever official “women’s party” to participate in general elections.

The initiative led by women rights activist, Benal Yazgan, pledges to continue the legacy of the Kadınlar Halk Fırkası (the People’s Party of Women) almost a century after its establishment. The movement that was created in 1923 by one of the most important female figures of the early Republic, Nezihe Muhiddin, but was never officially recognized. Nevertheless, it became an important milestone for the representation of women in society and politics.

The petition submitted to the ministry vowed that the new Woman Party (Kadın Partisi) would “respect diversity.”

“We will fight against gender discrimination and inequality in society, as well as discrimination based on religion, language, ethnicity and sexual orientation, and [we will] fight against military and civil coups and hate speech,” the petition stated, according to the news website Bianet.

Male quota

It will also apply a “quota for men” to represent the party at general and local elections, and has also criticized the absence of any female candidates for this year’s presidential election in August.

The party vowed that men will also participate in all echelons of the party, and two men are among its nine founding members.

Among its demands, the party also calls for the construction of democratic political parties, transparency in election laws and the reduction of the electoral threshold to three percent.