Military to abolish misogynous marches

ISTANBUL-Hürriyet Daily News

Phrases that are frequently employed in Turkish military drills such as “Take over the neighbor’s girl” will be replaced with non-misogynous ones, reports say. HDN photo

Turkish Chief of General Staff Necdet Özel issued an order yesterday to abolish drill marches that contain discriminatory statements toward women in the military following a personal appeal by Family and Social
Policies Minister Fatma Şahin.

Phrases that are frequently employed in military drills, such as “Blonde, brunette or fair; the infantry takes its share;” “Take over the neighbor’s girl;” and “Go back where you came from and bring your sis back,” will now be replaced with non-misogynous slogans, including “Strong Military, Strong Turkey” and “Every Turk is born a soldier,” according to reports.

Özel also took heed of Şahin’s suggestion to extend the scope of the civics education that is provided to draftees in the military. Accordingly, unit commanders will now instruct their troops about gender equality, honor killings, juvenile marriages and laws pertaining to such issues as equal opportunity, health, family planning and gender, reported daily Sabah.

Turkey’s top general had ordered an inquiry to identify misogynous marches and slogans that are frequently employed in standard military drills after his meeting with Şahin in November 2011.