Turkish Women Push Back Against Patriarchy

A woman collapses in front of a police barricade during one of the Occupy Gezi protests. Credit: Arzu Geybulla/IPSAmong the many issues bringing protestors together at Gezi Park, the now-iconic site of struggle in Istanbul’s Taksim Square, is the demand for women’s liberation. Coming from many walks of life and expressing a myriad of ideals and values, the women of the Occupy Gezi Movement have nevertheless voiced a collective desire: to fight the undercurrent of deeply entrenched patriarchal values and reclaim autonomy over their own bodies and lifestyles. These demands are now coalescing around proposed legislation from the country’s Health Ministry that will call on pharmacies to limit the sale of oral contraception known as the morning-after pill only to those with a doctor’s prescription, a practice that is uncommon for most drugs available to the public here. Under Turkey’s conservative-leaning Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, women are encouraged to have at least three children to help maintain population growth rates. Feminists and women’s rights groups representing almost 400 people say the new legislation is part of government attempts to impose traditional values onto their lifestyle, and will only reinforce stereotypes about the “ideal” Turkish woman, while stigmatising those who stray from this image. “I can’t go to the family doctor (for my contraceptive needs) because it is a secretive issue for me,” said Merve K...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tags: Active Citizens Civil Society Democracy Development & Aid Economy & Trade Featured Gender Gender Identity Headlines Health Human Rights Middle East & North Africa Population Regional Categories TerraViva Europe TerraViva Unit Source Type: news