Parliament's women event canceled after CHP deputies stage boycott

ISTANBUL

Fatma Şahin. AA Photo

An event organized by Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Şahin was canceled following a united stance of female deputies triggered by a boycott call from the main opposition Republican People's Party’s (CHP), daily Hürriyet has reported.
 
The event, set to be attended by female deputies in the Turkish Parliament, was boycotted by the CHP's deputies as a reaction toward the lack of a response from Şahin following the recent "vagina" debate that stirred Parliament last week.
 
Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç had argued with CHP deputy Aylin Nazlıaka over the use of the word "vagina" during Nazlıaka's speech, in which she called on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to "quit standing guard over women’s vaginas."
 
Following the CHP stance against Sahin's planned event, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) members also joined in, informing Şahin of the upcoming reaction against the event.
 
Şahin, in turn, canceled the event after discussing the situation with fellow deputies.
 
The deputy prime minister had told Nazlıkaya that he had felt "extremely embarrassed during the abortion discussions when [Nazlıaka], as a married woman with children, openly spoke of one of your organs [vagina]."
 
Nazlıaka issued a response immediately after the argument.
 
"We are here [in Parliament] due to our personality, not to our femininity or our elegance. I would be happier if he was bothered by my statements, rather than by my gender," she said.
 
Şahin made no statements regarding the issue and offered no response to Arınç.