ACTIVITIES

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.