Just Keep Quiet!

BY ERDAL SAFAK
SABAH)- Whenever women's place in politics and government is discussed, I remember the panels hung on two thrones at the Empire Palace in Beijing. The panel of the magnificent throne in the 600-year-old palace's Hall of Great Harmony says not to make decisions without consulting the people. But just next to it, in the Hall of Unity, the empress' throne says to "just keep quiet." In other words, the empress is warned that she should never intervene in the government. The political and democratic picture in Turkey, 73 years after women were given the right to vote and be elected, is little different from such a mentality. That is, vote, but otherwise don't interfere. Sure, all the parties favor more representation of women in politics and government, but when it comes to concrete action, they fall short. People say women can't find time for politics due to their housework and children, but this is a lie. The fertility rate in Turkey fell from 4.3 to 2.2 over the last 30 years. Women aren't devoting themselves to their children, unlike in the past. Some also say women aren't so willing to deal with active politics and state administration, but this is also a lie. Could the same women who participate in business life so intensively and reach the peak of their professions actually be uninterested in state administration? Some say women lack the economic freedom to be in politics. This is both a lie and a pretext. It's a lie, because the percentage of women who have won their economic freedom has reached levels far above 20-30 years ago. It's a pretext, because there are many solutions to direct women without economic freedom into politics.

All these lies and pretexts can't hide the truth. The representation of women in Turkish politics is shameful. According to a study done by the United Nations, worldwide women hold 17% of seats in parliaments, but only 4.4% in Turkey. Of course nobody expects our Cabinet to have an equal number of women and men like in Spain or Sweden, but this is really a shame. Both women's groups and European politicians suggest a `women's quota' as the only solution, but most of our politicians oppose this. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan considers it as an `insult to women.' What's more, even if this proposal were made law, it couldn't apply to this year's general elections, according to the Constitution (which delays such provisions for a year). So this will again be left to the fairness of the parties and their leaders. As indicated by the statements made to mark International Women's Day, this year's general elections will be a test of sincerity for the parties. Let's see if they prove themselves willing to share their sovereignty, or alternately if they continue to apply the warning on the empress' throne. Let me remind you that a joint study of the Association for Support and Training of Women Candidates (KADER) and the UN Development Program found that parties which fielded more women candidates can boost their votes by 25%. The choice is the parties'!