Public Opinion Polls conducted to outline the status of women in six programme city

Prof. Ayata evaluates poll results for UNJP

Poll results once again showed the importance and the need for the United Nations Joint Programme (UNJP) which aims at enhancing the rights and women and girls to eliminate persistent gender inequality. An important outcome of the poll results is that women want to be involved in politics.

An important ingredient of the UNJP is to determine the status of women in the programme cities through public polls.

Public poll results are  instrumental to funnel NGOs to projects addressing the demands of the local female population and help local governments develop a wider scope of activities to meet the demands from the citizens.

Prof. Ayşe Ayata of Middle East Technical University, Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences Department of Political Science and Public Administration, and Asst. Profs. Aykan Erdemir and  Ayça Ergün  evaluated the poll results for UNJP.
One of the leading result of the polls was that women are very interested in participating in the local political decision making process.

As pointed out by Prof. Ayata, increased role of women in  the "social and political decision making process will result in gender equality, development of gender sensitive policies and engage women in politics in greater numbers”.

Poll results demonstrate that women voters tend to vote for political parties with a gender sensitive agenda.

According to the findings of Prof. Ayata,  more women than men believe that they should be more active in local politics. The effect of local government services on the daily lives of people, make women the primary client of municipal services such as roads, water, and electricity. 

Some of the results:
-Violence against women usually comes from the husband (73%), parents (27%) and brothers (8.5%). Highest approval rate of violence against women in some cases comes from the university graduate male population. This means women are more prone to oppression and violence at home.
-Both men and women agree that honour killing is a crime against humanity. However, more men (17,4%)  than women (8,5%) approve the practice.
-Men are more supportive of equal rights for women in public life. However, in their private lives men tend to maintain a more conservative attitude.
-As the level of women’s education increases, the number of children a woman has goes down.  Illiteracy can increase the number of children a woman has by fifty percent.
-In the six programme cities, female participation in the labour market is significantly lower than the male participation. The ratio of female participation in the labour market differs between 17.3 to 24.5 percent.
-The reasons for women not being able to participate in the labour market can be evaluated in two main areas. One of the reasons can be family related. The ratio of husbands disagreeing With participation of their wives in the labour market can go up to 40 percent in some cities. The second reflects a group composed of women who simply cannot find a job. In the eastern provinces this can affect  40 percent of the female population.
-Women mostly want to take computer (20-30 percent) and sewing courses. Young women’s (15-24 and 25-34 age group) first choice is computer classes where the older generation prefers (35-44 and 55-64 age group) sewing and carpet weaving courses. The young generations’ choice of vocational training shows their willingness to take more active part in the economic and social fabric of their society. 
-Around 80 percent of women are aware of the equal rights for women as outlined in the law. However, a majority of women believe that the legal framework is not sufficient to secure gender equality.
-Poll results once again demonstrated that more women (64,2 percent) than men (53.8%) will vote for a gender sensitive political party or a candidate even if it is not from the political party they support.
-Women who stated that they cast their votes regularly at the elections represented 80% of the female population. Women think that there should be more female representation in local government.
-The male approval rate of the view that “a woman’s place is in the home” (this view is shared by 30-40 percent of the women) shows that there is a serious obstacle stemming from the family members for female participation in the work force. This approach was approved by most men and women although it does not represent the truth.
-The basic needs of women are education, health services, employment opportunities, women’s shelters, day-care for children, free legal consultancy and gender equality.
-Women want policies that will address  their problems and build gender equality. However, although people are aware of  gender equality in the law, at home traditional practices and values come first.
-Women are prepared to accept egalitarian values and participate in the political decision making processes.
-At heart, women are open to change, and the way to change women is through education.   

For the overview of the results please follow the link below:

Overview of poll results