After 2 years of work, Ben Seçerim (I Choose) Association has recruited and now trains and supports its own women candidates to be elected at the upcoming elections in Turkey. The aim is to pitch at least six of their candidates to the Parliament.
Ben Seçerim (I Choose) Association will support its own women candidates to be elected to the Parliament in the upcoming elections on 14 May. In line with this goal, the association conducted fieldwork in 10 provinces and elected 17 women candidates. The next step is to get these candidates on the lists of political parties, and for this purpose, talks are ongoing with the party chairmen in Ankara.
According to a recent survey, 62 per cent of the society think that Turkey will develop and become a better society with more women politicians. 61 per cent think that mandatory quotas for women should be adopted in parties.
By building their work upon these results, ‘I Choose’ has identified 17 women whose qualifications, and feminist perspective ensure policies that can change our communities and the world. The team, which is currently holding meetings with political party chairmen and deputy chairmen, is ambitious. If women are nominated as candidates, all election campaigns will be run by the Association. Women will also receive training ranging from lobbying to the internal regulations.
Inspired by the Emily’s List
Nilden Beyazıt, General Director of ‘I Choose’, who was herself a parliamentary candidate from Maraş for a period, says that she witnessed firsthand the challenges women face to exist in politics: “After experiencing all these, we started to examine the studies on women’s participation in politics in the world. The Emily’s List in the USA was very impressive. They support women candidates during the whole election process. While doing this work, their goal is not only to increase the number of women politicians, they want qualified women to participate in politics. This is also what we agree upon.”
“Political party chairmen and executives make excuses such as “We could not find a woman candidate” or “Voters do not want women” to justify their preference for male candidates over female candidates, but as the recent surveys indicate people are ready for women politicians, but political institutions are not ready for this” she adds.
‘There is an isolation that only women who have been in politics can understand’
Arguing that women who want to do politics are isolated, Beyazıt articulates this isolation as follows:
“There is an isolation that only women who have been in politics can understand. For this reason, it is very important to share certain experiences with women. For example, she is coming to Ankara, she will apply for candidacy, she will lobby. She feels alone in a hotel, she does not know where to go, who she can talk to. I wish someone would tell her, ‘You should find this person, meet with this group and prepare a file like this.’ This is what we set out to do.”
Source: Duvar