According to the unofficial results of the 14 May general elections in Turkey, 121 women secured seats in the 600-member parliament. The female representation rate, which was 17.1% in the previous elections, rose to 20.1% this year. Also the number of male MPs who hold misogynist and anti-LGBTQ views have increased in the Parliament.
Some 121 women will serve in the new term of Parliament, according to unofficial results. A total of 479 lawmakers are male in the 600-seat Parliament.
The Green Left Party (YSP) has the highest number of women MPs compared to their total number in Parliament. However, it is the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) that has the highest number of women MPs in the legislative body at 50.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the YSP have 30 female lawmakers each, while the Good Party (IP), ruled by Meral Akşener, the only chairwoman of a major political party in Turkey, will have 6 women MPs. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has 4 women while the Turkish Labor Party has 1 woman MP.
Women were absent from 31 provinces in the parliamentary polls. From Adıyaman in the east to Ordu in the north and Çanakkale in the west, those provinces failed to elect a woman MP to Parliament.
Increase in the number of women deputies in CHP and İYİ Party
In the 24 June 218 elections, 18 of the 146 deputies sent to the Parliament were women and 128 were men. According to the latest election results, 31 of the 169 deputies sent to Parliament by the CHP are women and 138 are men.
The İYİ Party, on the other hand, sent 43 deputies to the Parliament on 24 June 2018, of which only 3 were women and 43 were men. According to the latest election results, 6 of the 44 deputies sent to the Parliament by the İYİ Party are women and 38 are men.
In the 24 June 2018 elections, 242 of 295 AKP MPs were men and 53 were women. According to the last election results, 48 of the 267 deputies sent to Parliament by the AKP were women.
The People’s Alliance partner MHP, on the other hand, has the lowest number of women deputies. Of the 49 deputies MHP sent to the Parliament on 24 June, 4 were women and 45 were men.
Increase in anti-women and LGBTI+ in Parliament
The New Welfare Party is known for its ultraconservative views. During Erbakan’s official speech broadcasted on state-run television station TRT on May 7, he made promises that included the closure of LGBTI+ associations, ensuring the protection of youth from perceived threats such as “deism and atheism,” and guaranteeing permanent positions for Quran course teachers as civil servants.
Before the Islamist New Welfare Party (YRP) joined the ruling People’s Alliance on March 24, the party and Justice and Development Party (AKP) signed a protocol including subtle clauses that are discriminatory against the LGBTI+ community.
The protocol includes a special part about “social issues,” with one of the clauses stating that the parties will put emphasis on regulations that aim to “prevent perversions against moral values.” The protocol also read, “Existing laws will be re-evaluated in order to protect the integrity of the family.”
Another new entry is the notorious Islamist-Kurdish Free Cause Party (HÜDA PAR), linked by critics to Hizbullah, an armed group responsible for the deaths of hundreds, including journalists and politicians, during the 1990s. By running on AKP’s list, they got 4 representatives. The Democratic Left Party (DSP) obtained one seat.
Since it announced its support for the People’s Alliance, HUDA-PAR has come to the forefront with its restrictive and hateful discourse against women’s and LGBTI+ rights. The statements of the party, which was accused of being the continuation of Hezbollah, about “adopting single women” drew a great reaction.
HÜDA-PAR’s vision for future
- “Except for perverted beliefs contrary to human nature and creation”, everyone should be free to practice their own religion and the worship required by their religion, and this freedom should be guaranteed by the constitution and laws. (In the period leading up to the 14 May elections, homosexuality was constantly referred to as ‘perversion’ by the government.)
- “Sexual perversions that threaten the whole humanity because they corrupt the generation” should be prohibited and criminalised.
- The inheritance left by people whose heirs are absent or cannot be found “should be left to the poor, not to the state treasury, or transferred to a fund to be established to be used only in areas such as the marriage of poor young people, the adoption of women living alone and the care of orphans.”
- Adultery should be redefined as a criminal offence.
- “Marriage is a necessity.” Therefore, those who cannot marry due to financial constraints should be given the opportunity to do so.
- The education system should be reformed “in line with Islamic values and the recognised historical experience of Muslims”. The Holy Qur’an, Arabic language, hadith, catechism and sciences should be taught from the first grade of primary education.
- Compulsory mixed-sex education should be abandoned, and families who wish to do so should be able to send their children to boys’ or girls’ schools at all levels of education, including higher education.
Extra-marital relationships that “lead to the emergence of a selfish and individualistic society devoid of compassion and compassion” should be prevented.