Human rights in Turkey

Turkey is a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights and the Turkish Constitution guarantees basic human rights to all Turkish citizens. Nonetheless, Human rights in Turkey have long attracted international attention. While Turkey has made sufficient progress to allow the start of negotiations for the accession of Turkey to the European Union, concerns remain.

Gender equality

Turkey was the first country to give full political rights to women in Europe, in 1934.

According to the Turkish Constitution Article 10, Turkish men and women enjoy equal rights. Turkey was happened to be one of the first countires which elected a female prime minister, Tansu Çiller. However, in Eastern Anatolia, where education still is not sufficent, unfortunantly, women still have to face violence, forced marriages, honour killings. The government and foundations try to avoid informal discrimination by making campaings in Eastern Anatolia

Press freedom

Turkey has hundreds of newspapers, TV channels and radio stations and they are free for every program and news which are not harmful for the unity of Turkey and general Turkish ethics. TRT(the government broadcaster) broadcasts short programmes in a number of minority languages, including Bosnian and Kurdish since 2003.

Laws governing the media have been liberalised significantly since the 1980s and are regarded as generally free. Reforms has been underway since 2000, to assist Turkey's prospects for accession to the European Union.

Ethnic minorities

Turkish society contains elements from every nationality of the Ottoman Empire. Many Turks have Yugoslav, Greek, Armenian, Laz, Kurd, Albanian, Hungarian, Polish, Circassian, Georgian, Azeri, Russian ancestors. Turkey strongly endorses the concept of constitutional citizenship, which is not based on ethnicity. Turkish refers to all citizens of Turkey.

Until recently, there was restriction not to speak other languages than official langage Turkish, and the publications in minority languages were not allowed but now in Turkey all minorities have the right to publish their own news paper or broadcast their own TV channel with the recent reforms. Also, all minorities can speak their own language. Furthermore, there are private schools that teach Kurdish language and other languages spoken in Turkey.

Kurdish Minority

Security forces in Turkey forcefully displaced Kurdish people who are Turkish citizens, from rural areas during the 1980s and 1990s in order to protect them against terrorist Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK). PKK opened unrecoverable wounds in Turkey causing the deaths of many innocent people; nearly 30,000 deaths.

It was forbidden to speak Kurdish and Kurdish activities but now it is seen that these are the basic rights of Kurdish people, who are Turkish citizens.

Religious freedom

Turkey is a secular country and has no official religion. Every Turkish citizen have right to choose his/her religion and can worship in every way he/she wants.

Secularizm in Turkey is coming from Atatürk's principles which are the basic principles of modern Turkey.In other words Six Arrows:Republicanism, Populism, Secularism, Reformism, Nationalism, and Statism. According to secularism in Turkey any person can not wear religious symbols in government. For example, women are not allowed to cover their heads. This is about special case of Turkey- a country being a Muslim but modern-. Thus, many Turks think headscarfs are opposing the basics of modern Turkey. It is one of the biggest problems between modernists and conservatives. Also, in France headscarfs are forbidden.

No religion, including Islam, may run a faith-based school. Religious education may only be given by appointed teachers who studied at Turkey's secular universities.

It is obvious that there is an informal domination of Sunni Islam within Turkish society, despite the protections offered by formal secularism. For example, the Alevis pray in side of Cemevis but the government funds only the building of mosques.

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