Photo Ed: Christians celebrate Christmas in Istanbul
Women Protected Against Husbands’ Might, But Not Against Their Right
Last week, a court in Ankara ordered that a woman who is not officially married must also be protected from her partner. Until now, courts could order protection from their husbands only for women who were officially married, not divorced or married through religious rites only.
The Politics of Child Abuse in Turkey
By Dilek Aydemir, USAK Social Studies Desk
Journal of Turkish Weekly (JTW)
Thursday , 04 December 2008
When the news on the accusation of one of the writers of the daily newspaper ‘Vakit’ for abusing 14 years old girl was released, Turkey was shocked. People were giving more or less similar reactions as they have given to any ‘child abuse’ case. The offender was condemned and people started to wait for a trial which will possibly end with the imprisonment of 76 year old Hüseyin Üzmez, a lawyer and a writer in a daily newspaper which is known with its radical Islamist inclinations. However, people realized that the previous news was ordinary when they realized the real shock: Hüseyin Üzmez is released since the Turkish Council of Forensic Medicine gave an approval on that they did not receive any implication of damage in girl’s mental and physical health. Many civil society organizations mostly women’s organizations held protests after the trial and especially on November 25, the ‘International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women’.
Pessimistic Outlook by Turkey’s Youth
A considerable majority of young adults in Turkey are pessimistic about the future of the country, a recent survey has found.
86.2 percent of all respondents don’t believe that Turkey will become a more developed and prosperous country. More than 86 percent said Turkey will not embrace a shift to more equitable distribution of wealth among its citizens, and another 83 percent said the country will not manage to solve its problems in the field of education.
Peer pressure in academia
A recent study jointly supported by the Open Society Institute (OSI) and the prestigious Bosporus University caused much discussion about the "mahalle baskısı" (peer pressure) allegations of the secularists.
Social pressure survey lacks scientific credentials, critics say
A study recently conducted by the Open Society Institute (OSI), called “Being Different in Turkey,” has revealed some controversial results, which suggest that non-devout and secularist people in Turkey are subject to social pressure to fulfill some religious duties.
Being different in Turkey
The Open Society Institute (OSI) has just published a report entitled "Being Different in Turkey — Alienation on the Axis of Religion and Conservatism."
‘Measures on women’s political participation not part of agenda’
Serpil Sancar Üşür, a gender expert from Ankara University, has said most political parties do not give high priority to women’s political participation, preventing Turkey’s democratic progress.
Lifestyles Among The Urban Poor
The following is a report about a survey of lifestyle in the varos, or poor urban areas where former rural migrants and their families live. Click here for the article. Click here for a Turkish version that gives bar graphs and more results. I find some of the questions a bit uninformed. For instance, one question asks whether men in the family ‘go to a coffeehouse or kiraathane’ (where card-playing and sometimes gambling occurs). Not surprisingly, more than half said ‘no’, but I’d bet if the question were just about innocent coffee houses, the majority would say yes. Also, one question asks whether anyone wears sleeveless blouses. That number might be low in many non-varos areas as well. A more revealing question about conservatism would have been to ask about short-sleeved blouses. Excerpts:
Turks turn blind eye to ‘honour killings’ – The National Newspaper
İstanbul University elects its ‘tyrant’ by MÜMTAZ’ER TÜRKÖNE
The election held earlier this week at İstanbul University has taken up as much space on the country’s agenda as the upcoming local elections.
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