December 2009

31 December 2009
Magazine of Tohum included evaluation of Our Vice President about ‘the lower coefficient to calculate the university admission examination scores of  graduates of vocational high schools including Imam-Hatip High Schools’.

30 December 2009
Our Vice President has joined the TV Programme of ‘Gray areas in Human Rights by Cem Sofuoglu’ on CEM TV. Hulya Gulbahar from the Organization of  ‘KADER’ also joined the programme. General problems of women in  Turkey, violence against women, responsibility of the State, OPUZ decision of ECHR and individual applications to CEDAW were discussed during the programme.

24 December 2009
Vice President of AKDER, Fatma Benli, attended the meeting of ‘Gender Equality’ organized by IKADDER (Women organizations of Istanbul) and OZ Group (Initiative for Original Ideas).  A report on ‘Social gender equality: as a concept used in the prevention of violation of women rights and in extension of equality of women and men’ was presented in the meeting.

22 December 2009
All past law proposals of AKDER and other written works  were sent to the authorities which have responsibility about laws and law proposals, including Ministry of Women and Family, Prime Ministry Directorate General on the Status of Women, Human Rights’ Committee and Committee of Justice and Committee on the Equal Opportunity for Women and Men of Turkish of Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Ministry of Justice, General Directorate of Laws of Ministry of Justice and Prime Ministry General Directorate of Laws and Decisions. A statement in the ‘Regulation on the procedural and essential rules about the preparation of legislations was reminded; it states that while working on law proposals, view of NGOs will be taken into consideration. We requested that all proposals about women’s human rights are to be sent to AKDER for asking our written contribution.

18 December 2009
Newspaper of Star, asked our organization’s view on the new decision of Higher Educational Council that decreased the differences of coefficient implied to graduates of general high schools and vocational high schools, by interviewing with our Deputy President. She stated that it was a good improvement that the great difference of 50 mark formed by different coefficient implication, decreased to 10 mark by the last decision of the Council; however, implying lower coefficient- no matter how lower it is- for graduates of vocational high schools could not be accepted in principle, because it formed a discrimination against them.

5 December 2009
Ilgar Ibrahimoglu, who is an azerbaijani human rights activist and President of ‘Forum Center for freedom of religion and belief, DEVAM’, visited our Deputy President. He shared his knowledge about problems that women had to face due to their wearing of headscarf in Azer baijan and their works for bringing freedom for headscarf. Mr. Ibrahimoglu, is one of  four Azerbaijani Muslim who are on the list of the Most Powerful 500 Muslim of the World and he works for the freedom for headscarf.

14 December 2009
Fatma Sumer’s article titled ‘Get away with discrimination and Women’, was published in bulletin of Human Rights Joint Platform (IHOP). The article proposes that negative view of the Courts on headscarf issue causes that culprits of discrimination get away with it.

12 December 2009
‘Platform for Coefficient Issue’ that has been criticizing the implication of different coefficients in evaluation of results of university entrance exam, organized a consultation meeting. Members of AKDER distributed the legal report and compliant petitions on the issue that were prepared by Vice President of AKDER.

11 December 2009
Vice President of AKDER, joined a Radio programme, titled ‘Midday with Eda’ on Radio 7, radio of voice of Istanbul.  She explained struggle for ending violence against women, problem solving methods for women problems and our organization’s view on women rights,

8 December 2009
An interview was made with our Vice President for the radio programme, titled ‘Values’, that has been broadcasted in Azerbaijan. They asked about activities of AKDER.

4-6 December 2009
Our Vice President attended ‘The World Family Summit’.

4- 5 December 2009
A symposium was held about ‘The role of Committee on the Equal Opportunity for Women and Men of Turkish of Grand Natioal Assembly of Turkey, in the development of gender equality in  Turkey’. Two of our members, Fatma Orgel and Sumeyye Ozdogan, attended this meeting. People in the meeting expressed comments and proposals on the mission and operation of the Committee. We, as AKDER, brought the headscarf issue to the meeting and stated that it was one of the main obstacles preventing access of women  to work and education in Turkey. It was reminded that one of the missions of the Committee should have been the halting of  unjust and arbitrary ban on wearing of headscarf,  because it was put in front of women as a tick wall preventing their access to education and work in a country which 60 % of women citizens use headscarf.

2 December 2009
AKDER has requested from The Ministry of National Education and Governor of Province of Eskisehir that an juristical and administive investigation should be opened about the teacher who insulted to  graduates of a school due to their wearing of headscarf. Graduates were in the school in the time of the event for visiting their ex- school for remembrance of their memories.