The Charter of the United Nations,
signed in San Francisco in 1945, was the first
international agreement to proclaim gender equality
as a fundamental human right. Since then, the
Organization has helped create a historic legacy of
internationally agreed strategies, standards,
programmes and goals to advance the status of women
worldwide.
Over the years, United Nations
action for the advancement of women has taken four
clear directions: promotion of legal measures;
mobilization of public opinion and international
action; training and research, including the
compilation of gender desegregated statistics; and
direct assistance to disadvantaged groups. Today a
central organizing principle of the work of the
United Nations is that no enduring solution to
society's most threatening social, economic and
political problems can be found without the full
participation, and the full empowerment of the
world's women.
The UN has dedicated the year 2006
to gender issues. Globally the number of women
participating in the legislative and political
decision making process has increased, including a
significant surge in the number of women serving in
parliaments. Globally, 10.9 percent of the
parliamentarians were composed of women in 1975.
This number went up to 16.3 percent in 2006.
However, in Turkey only 4.6 percent of the
parliamentarians and 0.56 percent of mayors are
women.
Turkey has taken important steps to
improve the rights and status of women in Turkey.
However, there is still a long way to go to achieve
the desired results.
According to the Directorate General
for Status of Women, in Turkey;
- One
out of every three women is a victim of violence;
- 63 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 19
approve of violence against women;
- 19.4
percent of women are illiterate;
- According
to 2003-2004 data, only 12 percent of women at university age
is enrolled in a university;
- 26
percent of university professors are women and 56.9
percent of research assistants are women;
- The
female participation rate in the work force is only
25.4, female unemployment rate is 9.7, and
unemployment rate among young women is 18.8.
- 57.2
percent of women work in the agriculture sector and
50 percent of the the women in agriculture sector
are part of family work force without pay;
- 2.500
women die during childbirth.
Data: Directorate General for Status of Women, UN
web pages. |
