ANKARA - Evaluating AKP's "Action Plan for the Protection and Strengthening of the Family", EŞİK Volunteer Özgül Kapdan said: "This document is a plan to take over women's lives. We no longer have the luxury of discussing the issue piece by piece."

 

The "Vision Document and Action Plan for the Protection and Strengthening of the Family" with the signature of AKP Chair and President Tayyip Erdoğan was published in the Resmi Gazette on May 15. While the action plan in question took steps that incarcerate women at home and reinforced women's roles within the family, Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş admitted in her statement that they prioritized "family", not women. 

 

Women's Platform for Equality (EŞİK) Volunteer Özgül Kapdan spoke about the effects of the action plan on society, especially women.

 

THE FINAL OF AKP'S 22 YEARS OF POLICIES

 

Stating that the action plan presented as "local and national" was seen as the "final state" of AKP's 22-year-old policies, Kapdan said: "Abortion was wanted to be banned, women were wanted to make divorce more difficult, muezzins (religious persons like imam) were appointed to shelters instead of psychologists, and the three-child policy was imposed.  Most importantly, attempts were made to constantly lower the age of marriage. An amnesty was imposed, which would pave the way for the issue of forced marriage at a young age and pave the way for the age of marriage to be changed in the civil law with subsequent decisions. This agenda was brought to the Parliament several times. Again, child molesters and rapists were released from prison with execution laws that violated the law. With the latest plan in question, women are asked to submit, without objecting to anything, and continue their male-dominant families under the name of marriage."

 

REGIME CHANGE

 

Pointing out that the "Vision Document and Action Plan for the Protection and Strengthening of the Family" was not prepared in line with the needs of the society, Kapdan also said that they were trying to move the society to a different place with the 9th Judicial Package. Pointing out the action plan in question as well as the work carried out together with Diyanet, Kapdan said: “When we consider it together with the curriculum change; This is actually putting the final nail in the coffin of secularism. When we look at it since 2010, we can say that the Ministry of Religious Affairs has a secret agenda regarding women's rights. We have said since the first day that the role of Diyanet is a threat to the country's regime. This is a regime, a change of management style. It is extremely dangerous to put the Diyanet in the spotlight, especially on an issue that directly concerns the lives of families and women. Following this system, we can also see that discourses such as 'Girls cannot go to school and should not go to university' become reality. What is being done here is like a group trying to take over women's lives. The document presented to us is the plan for this."

 

'WE DO NOT HAVE THE LUXURY OF DISCUSSING PIECES OF PIECES'

 

Underlining that the action plan sent to the governorships is not a short-term study, Kapdan said: “The gains of the CHP and DEM Party in the past local elections showed that a change was experienced in which a real social municipalism would be implemented. It may also have been thought of as a mechanism to postpone, push back, and replace this achievement. CHP's nursery policy has been considered as an obstacle to the DEM Party's ability to create women-friendly areas since the beginning, although we have not seen it recently due to trustees. It is clear that this circular aims to prevent social and egalitarian municipalism. Therefore, this action plan should not be taken lightly.

 

We are in an incredible scenario as if there were people who did not protect the family and, moreover, they were spreading some harmful ideas. There is no structure that looks at this scenario holistically and opposes it all together. This problem is everyone's problem. It is also the problem of the people who vote for the government. Everyone needs to understand that we are in a package program and that we will be taken to very dangerous places by using the majority of the Parliament. We no longer have the luxury of discussing the issue piece by piece. They come before us with a holistic program; We must see this now. If what is intended to be done is explained correctly; There are many people who will not fall into this trap and will oppose these impositions. This is also a hope.” 

 

MA / Hivda Çelebi