In an event hosted by the Center for Gender Studies at Koç University, Professor Dr Serpil Sancar, one of the leading academics working on feminist theory and women’s movements in Turkey and the Middle East, gave a presentation about the current state of women’s mobilisation and rights around the world.
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The Center for Gender Studies at Koc University (KOÇ-KAM) held a webinar on the regional and global developments for women’s rights, with a focus on the dynamics of inclusion and the social upheavals led by women around the globe. At the event, Prof. Dr Serpil Sancar, one of the leading academics working on feminist theory and women’s movements in Turkey and the Middle East gave a comprehensive presentation on the current state of women’s rights around the globe.
Feminist Foreign Policy on the Decline
Sancar opened up her presentation by underlining the populist wave that has been increasing in the last years along with underlining how countries like Sweden were dropping their notion of “feminist foreign policy.” She furthermore stated that there is a misconception that women’s rights have advanced “with ease” in rich-powerful-prosperous societies. She stated that even in a country like Japan where advanced technology has made life easier, there are serious problems with women’s rights and representation. The United States and Canada can also be seen in this light because, in both countries, gender equality has not been brought to the level of equality, especially in political institutions, parliaments and parties.
When we look at the rest of the world, Sancar drew our attention to the disintegration of authoritarian regimes, economic crises, civil wars, and genocides by asking where women’s movements are rising and where they are getting stronger. According to Sancar, in these countries where transformations are taking place, there is a relationship between building a new political regime and the protection women’s rights.
In her presentation, Sancar stated that being poor and underdeveloped does not appear to be an obstacle to equality of representation and discussed the recent data on gender equality. Chile is one of the main examples, as in the new constitution-building process, equality is ensured in the constituent assembly. Furthermore, the chair of the constituent assembly is a woman.
She further stated that the Republic of South Africa, Rwanda and Egypt made an important move by adopting a gender quota. Cuba and Nicaragua, which are not considered democratic in the public opinion around the globe, are among the world’s top ten in equality. The United Arab Emirates has begun to impose a 50% female gender quota in parliament.
So, steps towards gender equality by authoritarian regimes really represent progress on women’s rights?
Sancar discusses this question through international gains and agreements. The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Beijing Declaration states that the gender equality action plans implemented by both the United Nations, the European Union and the Council of Europe define the prescriptions and a guide. According to universal standards, it is the state that is responsible for gender equality, every state service should be made sensitive to gender equality and there should be a process of gender mainstreaming. In addition, she underlined that not only the states are responsible and stated that parties, companies and all kinds of public service organizations are obliged to implement gender equality. In addition, she said that another dimension for the countries that signed the conventions is to allocate resources from public resources to this issue, the necessity of data collection and the creation of a national mechanism to implement them.
What do countries with increased female representation have in common?
In Sancar’s analysis, an important difference emerges between the countries that apply quotas and those that do not. In countries applying quotas, there can be an increase of at least ten to twelve percent in female representation. Sixteen of the top twenty countries are introducing gender quotas. In this context, Sancar draws attention to political will rather than economic data. In addition, she underlines the importance of strong women’s rights organizations and that the quotas alone are not enough. She believes that the women’s movement that will defend, support and monitor the process along with the cooperation with supportive men is crucial.
“Gender Mainstreaming” has not been implemented in Turkey
Discussing representation in Turkey, Sancar underlines that the women’s movement in Turkey has not nominated candidates, gender mainstreaming has not been implemented and there are still crucial problems inside political parties for women’s equal representation. In Turkey, the critical threshold has not been crossed by any party other than the HDP. Another issue underlined by Sancar is the “gender-blindness of political parties” and the lack of institutional structures to protect women’s rights in political parties. According to Sancar, the lack of organizational power and finances, especially among women in parties, is a serious problem.