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Within the framework of the UNJP, several city visit
were conducted in March and May 2006. Below is the summary of these visits.
 UNJP
team were well recieved both by the governorates and municipalities. As
a result of these visits, local governments had a chance to deeply involve in the programme. They were all enthusiastic
about the UNJP.
The purpose of the visits was to maintain local
interest and to finalize the first six-months working plan of the Joint
Programme.
Şanlıurfa
The first visit to Şanlıurfa aimed to get
the views of local government, women associations and academicians on
the problems women face.
Proverty,
high illiteracy rate among women and low rate of enrollment in a school
among girls, health problems, violence against women and honour
killings were outlined as the main problems women face in Şanlıurfa.
At the meeting conducted with the participation of the local partners
possible solutions to the problems were put on the table. That was also
the first step forward to create a positive dialogue between the
women’s associations and the local government.
Local government officials mainly
demanded to diversify the activities. Representatives of the women’s
associations asked for more dialogue and cooperation with the local
government to increase their influence on the local decision making
process.
İzmir
As one
of the major cities in Turkey, İzmir has a unique place among the other
programme cities. UNJP team came together with representatives from more
than 40 women’s associations and local government officials to outline
the problems and possible solutions. The adverse effects of migration
from other cities to İzmir, which takes its toll mainly on women was the
main source of complaint. As participation at the first meeting was not
at a desired level, a second round of meetings was organized with
representatives of women’s associations, media, professional
organizations and local government officials. At that meeting UNJP
was explained in detail and participants voiced their expectations from
the programme.
The expectations of women’s associations do not go beyond common
projects on gender. To overcome this attitude, Project Cycle Management
training will be instrumental to initiate local action plan to
mobilise regional dynamics.
Trabzon
At the meeting in Trabzon on the UNJP,
local government officials and women’s association representatives
pointed out the reluctance of the female population to participate in
the social life in the city. An additional common remark was that women
do not have a proper social status although their input into the economy
is more significant than men.
Demands of women in Trabzon are slightly different than the demands of
women in other programme cities. They emphasize the need for
institutions that will facilitate and encourage women’s participation in
the social fabric in Trabzon. They also want the children to be
educated to protect themselves against abuse. Another important demand
of women in Trabzon is the creation of women’s shelters. Women also
believe that educating men on the rights of women is an essential
ingredient of success in achieving positive results to enhance women’s
rights.
Nevşehir
At a meeting in
Nevşehir, local government officials and representatives of women’s
associations came together. Local government officials informed UNJP
team on their activities related to gender issues and pointed out that
they need to be informed on women’s rights in more detail. Local
officials and representatives of women’s associations that are very few
in number emphasized the need for capacity increase in project cycle
management. Another important demand of the women in Nevşehir is to
attend computer classes.
Although the rate of female enrollment in school in Nevşehir is very
high, there is hardly any women participation in the labour force
Van
 During
the initial visit to Van, local officials and women’s association
representatives shared their views on the problems the female population
faces in Van.
Proverty, high illiteracy rate among the
women and low rate of enrollment in a school among girls, health
problems, and violence against women were the main subject of the
meeting.
Representatives of women’s associations
mainly stressed their demand for a more comprehensive dialogue with the
local officials.
Another important issue discussed by the
participating members of the women’s associations was training of men to
stop the violence against women.
Local officials also explained related projects in effect in Van.
Kars
 The
meeting organized in Kars was mostly attended by local government
officials. As the number of women’s associations in Kars is in very
limited and almost none of them attended the meeting, we could not get
the full picture of the status of women in the city.
Local officials gave information on the
ongoing gender projects in Kars.
Municipality repre- sentatives also emphasized that they are in the
process of planning a variety of services for women. |
