In 2011, Hürriyet launched a new social responsibility initiative and led the drive for establishment of the Rightful Women Platform. Chairwoman Vuslat Doğan Sabancı spearheaded the project to bring together thousands of people from 41 non-governmental organizations, academia, the media, the business community, the legal profession and civil society.
Currently, the Rightful Women Platform has 100,000 members consisting of members of various associations and individuals. The Platform aims to ensure equal representation of women in the Turkish Parliament, to protect women against all kinds of violence, to ensure that women take their well deserved place in the business world as soon as possible, to ensure the enactment of laws to protect women against discrimination and to ensure that necessary steps will be taken promptly to attain social gender equality.
As its first activity, the Platform called on Turkish voters and political party leaders before the June 2011 general elections to nominate more women candidates. Following the announcement of candidates for nomination, the Platform criticized the number of women candidates that was far below than that required by equality, and conveyed the disappointment that emerged among women after the elections took place to the political party leaders as well as to the new government. The Platform emphasized that the increase in the number of women members of Parliament fell short of the target of attaining true democracy, even though the rate of representation increased to 14% from 9%.
The Platform also actively participated in drafting the law on “Protection of Women and Family Members against Violence” that was initiated after Fatma Şahin assumed the position of Minister of Family and Social Policies.
Making statements on issues with regard to discrimination against women and organizing different activities since its establishment, the Rightful Women Platform continues its efforts in collaboration with many non-governmental organizations and platforms as well as the relevant ministries. www.haklikadinplatformu.org
www.haklikadinplatformu.org