Honor kilings in Turkey

#nofulltext# --- Online presentation. 7.International Conference on Interdiscplinary Social Sciences.Universidad Abat Oliba CEU,Barcelona,Spain, 25-28 June 2012.The concept of honor is very important for an individual’s integration into a group. A person’s failure in this area causes her to feel ashamed and lose status. Honor permeates the common values and norms which determine relationships in a society. According to an ancient Turkish proverb, extramarital sexual intercourse is “like mud on a woman’s face and like henna on a man’s hand.” The traditional punishment for women who have the “mud” on their faces referred to in this proverb, one which is not accepted to be marginal in the social perception, is generally death. Today, high number of murders committed due to this point of view in Turkey and the steps for preventing them are being discussed. Murderers who commit honor killings in Turkey generally emphasize the traditions of their tribes and do not use a religious discourse. The incidences in which men are killed are more unusual, and according to Islam, the man that takes part in fornication should be stoned to death along with the woman. However this rule was not practiced in either today’s Turkey or even in the Ottoman Empire, which was ruled by sultans who claimed to be caliphs of all Muslims. This fact supports the idea that religion is not the main reason for honor killings. According to the former Turkish Penal Code (TPC), the punishment of a person could be reduced due to provocation if he murders someone for his honor because of the social pressure created by the concept of honor. Thus, his punishment could be smaller than the punishment of a person who committed a murder in another way. Today, there is no punishment reduction due to provocation, according to the new Turkish Penal Code which was put into force for conformity with the European Union

Questioning the effects of dynamics that influence social awareness of the status of women

Conference: International Journal of Arts and Sciences conference Harvard University,Boston,ABD, May 26-30,2013.Turkey has accomplished important progress with regard to gender equality legislation. However, the situation of women in Turkey remains a source of concern in three interrelated areas: violence against women, low participation in the labor market, and access to education. Sections of society that are sensitive to the subject of women’s rights will confirm that efforts to find a solution in these three problem areas need to be examined based on how efficient they have been. For this reason, it will useful to evaluate each one separately. It is certain that the three topics that we have dealt with here concerning women’s empowerment in Turkey are important. Concrete steps are being taken to develop educational opportunities for women and it can be seen from the statistics that these steps have yielded positive results over the years. However, the statistics show that positive results have not been obtained in women’s employment and work is on-going. On the other hand, the prime minister has often given speeches asking families to have large numbers of children, and initiatives that will be implemented to encourage women to have many children appear in the press. As part of this policy, regulations that will enable women to retire two years earlier for each child that they have are being planned. These regulations, rather than supporting working mothers, are aimed at distancing women from working life and convincing them only to be mothers. It is possible to foresee that these approaches will make the gap between men and women in working life even wider. As for violence against women, the third subject that we dealt with here, it is the problem that requires the most urgent solution. It is a life-threatening obstacle standing in the way of women’s empowerment. When it comes to women and honour, even writers, intellectuals and university graduates have been conditioned in ways that they are not necessarily conscious of. We have to accept that women are victims and we have to want them to be able to live in society with the same level of security as men. However, these good intentions are definitely not enough. The steps and initiatives that are taken need to be analysed to identify which goal they really serve. For progress to be made in women’s rights, in parallel with the concrete steps that are taken, society must also analyse itself

Social Service Requirements of LGBTIs Living Under The Pressure of Heteropatriarchal System In Turkey

Cesur Kılıçaslan, Seher (Arel Author), Akkuş, Pınar (Arel Author)Bu çalışma, Türkiye'de LGBTİ'lere (lezbiyen, gey, biseksüel, trans, interseks) yönelik etkili sosyal hizmet uygulamasının gerekliliklerini saptamak amacı ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Tıpkı diğer kırılgan gruplar/azınlıklar gibi, LGBTİ'ler de pek çoğu ekonomik temelli olan barınma, eğitim, sağlık, istihdam, sosyal güvenlik, kişisel güvenlik gibi temel ihtiyaçlarını karşılamakta sorunlar yaşamakta ve bu sorunları aşmak için desteğe ihtiyaç duymaktadır. Ancak, LGBTİ'ler toplumun heteropatriarkal yapısından kaynaklı cinsel yönelim ya da cinsiyet kimliğine dayanan ayrımcılıktan dolayı kurumsal destek alabilecekleri mekanizmalardan dışlanmaktadır. Türkiye'de, kırılgan/desteğe ihtiyaç duyan kişilere sosyal hizmet sağlamakla yükümlü birincil kurum olan Aile ve Sosyal Politikalar Bakanlığı'nın LGBTİ'lerin sorunlarını gündemine almadığı, onları ekonomik ve sosyal sorunlar karşısında yalnız bıraktığı görülmektedir. Çalışmada, tüm bireyler gibi LGBTİ'ler de sosyal hizmetlerden yararlanma hakkına sahip olmaları esasına dayanılarak, sosyal politika alanında karar vericilerin ve sosyal hizmet sağlayıcıların onları dikkate almalarının zorunluluğu üzerinden hareket edilmiştir. Farklı yaşam dönemlerinde karşılaştıkları psiko-sosyal sorunları çözme noktasında ağırlıklı olarak enformel ağlardan faydalandıkları bilinen LGBTİ'lere karşı devletin sosyal hizmet/destek kapsamındaki yükümlülükleri belirlenmeye çalışılmış ve yaşanan güçlükleri aşmaya yönelik önerilerde bulunulmuşturThis study aims to define the requirements of effective provision of social services to LGBTIs (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) in Turkey. Similar to other vulnerable groups/minorities, LGBTIs are also faced with challenges in meeting their basic necessities, most of which has an economic base such as housing, education, health, employment, social security, personal security, and need support to overcome these problems. However, as a result of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity originating from the heteropatriarchal structure of the society, LGBTIs are excluded from the mechanisms where they can receive institutional support. In Turkey, it is seen that the Ministry of Family and Social Policies, the primary institution responsible for providing social services to those who are vulnerable/need support, does not put the problems of LGBTIs on its agenda and leaves them marginalized vis-à-vis economic and social problems. In the present study, considering the fact that LGBTIs have the right to enjoy social services as anyone else, the necessity of social policy decision makers and social service providers to take them into account is taken as a point of departure. Furthermore, it is aimed to determine the government's liabilities within the context of providing social services/support to LGBTIs, who are known to resort to informal networks mainly to solve their psycho-social problems at different phases of their lives, and several suggestions to overcome the current challenges are mad

Tüketim kültürü ve reklamların birey üzerinde doğurduğu zayıflık hissi

Cesur Kılıçaslan, Seher (Arel Author).Tüketim toplumu ya da tüketim kültürü olguları, özellikle 1980’li yıllardan başlayarak adından sıkça söz edilen kavramlar olmuştur. Tüketimin demokratikleştirilerek alt sınıflara açılmasıyla, bu kitlelerde ekonomik ve toplumsal konum bakımından üst konumdakilerin kimliğini kazanabilecekleri yanılsaması yaratılarak, gerçek yaşamda kendilerinden esirgenen doyumların acısının hafifletilmesi sağlanmış, böylelikle tüketim kültürü bir yaşam felsefesi haline getirilmiştir. Mutluluğu ve özgürlüğü tüketimle eşitleyen çok güçlü öyküler vardır – reklamcılık bu görüşün en başta gelen propaganda aracıdır. Reklam sanayisi, kamu bilincini, insanlık tarihinde başka hiçbir kampanyanın yapamayacağı ölçüde değiştirmiş, detaya yönelik daha fazla düşünceyi, çabayı, yaratıcılığı, zamanı ve dikkati çok büyük miktardaki metanın satışına yöneltmiştir. Reklamın kullandığı dil bir tek bireye yöneliktir ancak bir tek bireye denk düşen ve reklamın hedef kitlesini oluşturan birçok birey vardır. Toplumu dönüştürerek (hedef kitlesini) sattığı ürünün tanıtımını destekler ve egemen kültürün geleneklerinin benimsenmesini sağlar. Reklamın tüketimi arttırmaya yönelik etkisine maruz kalan birey, kendisinde ve yaşam koşullarında sürekli eksiklik hisseder; içinde bulunduğu durumla olmak istediği durum arasındaki çelişkiyi her gün yeniden yaşar. Bu ise güçsüzlük algısı doğurur

A general view of poverty in Turkey as an issue for social work in the light of behavioral finance and game theory

#nofulltext# --- Cesur Kılıçaslan, Seher (Arel Author)In this chapter, the authors define poverty in general terms before including statistics for a detailed, Turkey-Specific discussion. Once the authors elaborate on the causes of poverty, they introduce behavioural economics and game theory, the fundamental aim of the chapter being to examine how these two theories affect perceptions of poverty and the struggle against poverty. Another issue that enters into the scope of this chapter is to what extent the poor themselves are responsible for their own poverty. On this question, game theory and behavioural economics can potentially be marshalled against the poor. However, we also argue that, by using a different approach, both theories can be interpreted in the poor's favour. We examine the Double-Sided nature of these two theories in detail and stress how important it is in the study of poverty to consider the disadvantageous position in which the poor find themselves. © 2015, IGI Global. All rights reserved