In her message, Neslihan Çelik Alkoçlar made evaluations on the fight against violence against women, as well as equal opportunities in education and employment, and women's rights.
“Stating that Violence Against Women is an important problem for Turkey as well as in the world, Neslihan Çelik Alkoçlar emphasized that Turkey has made significant progress in the fight against Violence against Women with the measures and legal regulations taken in recent years;
“Although a number of studies have been carried out to prevent violence against women, women continue to be victims of violence in our country and around the world. According to the data announced by the We Will Stop Femicide Platform, nearly 10 thousand women were murdered in 5 years. Last month alone, 315 women were killed by men and 248 women were found dead under suspicious circumstances. However, according to the statement made by the United Nations, almost 736 million women around the world have been subjected to violence at least once in their lives, most of them by their partners or ex-partners. The most painful examples of violence against women continue to occur in Gaza before the eyes of the world. As a result of the attacks launched by Israel against the people of Gaza on October 7, 2023, in violation of the international human rights acquis and humanitarian law norms, violations against women's dignity and rights have reached terrible levels, and thousands of women have become victims of crimes against humanity. According to the data of the Ministry of Family and Social Policies, although the number of girls married at an early age has decreased by 2005% since 78, 11 thousand girls are currently sentenced to early marriage. The situation is no different in the world. According to a 2018 study by the United Nations Population Fund, one in every five children in the world is forced into marriage. Every year, 12 million girls are married off at a young age and are deprived of many basic rights, especially education and health. Unfortunately, violence occurs in every aspect of life. According to UNICEF's data, a total of 32 million girls around the world, 30 million of whom are primary school age, 67 million secondary school age, and 129 million high school age, cannot go to school.” said.
“WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN THE LABOR FORCE IS LESS THAN HALF OF MEN”
Pointing out that women contribute to the development of society in every job they touch and that they achieve great success in every field from business life to education, from politics to art, if equal opportunities are provided, Alkoçlar stated that, despite this, women's employment in Turkey is not at a sufficient level;
“According to the data announced by TÜİK, 49,9 percent of our total population is women and 50,1 percent is men. While the workforce participation rate of women aged 15 and over is 35,1 percent, this rate for men is 71,4 percent. The employment rate of women is less than half of men. Our higher education graduate women, whose workforce participation rate is announced as 68.8%, are luckier in this regard. In a country like Turkey, which has made development moves on a global scale and has shown great progress in every field, the fact that women's participation in the workforce is still not at the desired level reveals that there is still a long way to go. Women are lagging behind men in terms of girls' education, which is one of the issues we attach most importance to. In the data announced by TÜİK, it is stated that the average education period for Turkey in general is 10.0 years for men and 8.5 years for women. It is a fact that the existence and labor of women in all areas of life in the world is becoming more evident every day. Balances are also changing in business life, the cards are being redistributed in terms of gender. Each woman determines her own career paths and achieves great success in her struggles. The world needs inspiring women's success stories. "With their versatile perspectives, women can remind the world of values such as energy, cooperation, empathy, support and compromise." He continued his evaluations by saying:
"“WOMEN SHOULD PARTICIPATE MORE IN POLITICS FOR FAIR REPRESENTATION”
Neslihan Çelik Alkoçlar said that politics was perceived as a men's club for years and therefore women's participation in politics could not reach the desired level, and pointed out that the number of female candidates announced for the 31 March Local Elections to be held in Turkey remained at low levels again; “After the 2023 General Elections, women will be represented in the Turkish Grand National Assembly with 121 female deputies. Although it has increased compared to the 27th term, we are still far behind men considering the number of deputies in the Parliament. The situation is no different in local elections. Turkey ranks last in the rate of female ministers among 42 countries, including members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). According to January 1, 2023 data, the rate of female deputies in the parliament is 17 percent in Turkey. Turkey is third from the end in this field. There are 18 names in the presidential cabinet in Turkey. It is extremely thought-provoking that only one of them is a woman. Women's participation in politics is necessary for fair representation and balance. At this point, we must encourage our women, find solutions that will ensure family and work balance, and ensure that they take part in active politics and take part in policy-making mechanisms.
"With these feelings and thoughts, we state that we stand by and support all our women on March 8, International Women's Day, and we wish for a world where all obstacles to women reaching their deserved place in society are removed," she said.
