Ilkkaracan, P.

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Research findings at a glance from the 
Institute of Development Studies
RESEARCH
SUMMARY
IDS RESEARCH SUMMARY  CHANGING TURKEY’S LAWS TO IMPROVE WOMEN’S RIGHTS  OCTOBER 2008 www.ids.ac.uk
  In September 2004, a draft law to 
reform the Turkish Penal Code was 
accepted by the Turkish Parliament. 
Because of a successful three-year 
campaign the new Code overturned the 
notion that women’s bodies and 
sexuality are commodities owned by 
men and society, and that sexual 
offences should be regulated by  
patriarchal constructs such as ‘chastity’, 
and ‘honour’, and replaced it with legal 
recognition of women’s ownership of 
their sexuality and bodies. 
  
  Under the new Code:
  • Sexual offences were classified as 
‘crimes against the individual’ instead of 
the previous classification of ‘crimes 
against moral customs and society’
 • All references to constructs such as 
‘morality’, ‘chastity’ or ‘honour’ were 
removed from the code  
 • Sexual assault and rape were defined as 
any attack on the ‘sexual inviolability’ of 
the individual
 • Marital rape was criminalised
 • Suspensions or sentence reductions 
given to rapists and abductors who 
married the victim were removed
 • Legal provisions discriminating between 
married, unmarried, virgin, non-virgin 
women in sentencing abductors or 
rapists were removed.
  
The campaign also generated the widest 
public discussion on women’s sexuality 
since the foundation of the Turkish 
Republic, and is widely recognised as a 
leading example of successful advocacy 
and campaigning.
  Emergence of a new feminist 
movement
  Since 1980, Turkey’s transition to a free 
market economy, its growing integration 
into the global economy, and various 
political and cultural conflicts, all 
contributed to the weakening of state 
control and the rise and development of 
an autonomous civil society. During the 
1980s a new feminist movement 
brought the issue of women’s human 
rights violations in the private sphere to 
public attention for the first time, 
including issues such as domestic 
violence, sexual abuse in the family and 
the rights of sex workers. Turkey’s official 
acceptance as a candidate for EU 
accession in 1999 contributed to a 
favourable climate for reform.
  In 2000-2001 women’s organisations 
took advantage of these opportunities 
to launch a successful campaign for 
gender equality in Turkey’s civil code. The 
success of this campaign, which 
advocated full gender equality within the 
family, inspired Women for Women’s 
Human Rights (WWHR), a women’s 
Non-Governmental Organisation 
(NGO), to set up a women’s working 
group with academics and activists from 
all regions of Turkey to start a campaign 
for the reform of the Turkish Penal 
Code. However, progress on gender 
issues was constrained by the 
unprecedented election in 2002 of a 
right wing religious conservative party to 
power, the Justice and Development 
party (AKP).
Changing Turkey’s Laws to Improve Women’s 
Rights 
A concerted campaign by women’s and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organisations 
succeeded in achieving a revolutionary change in the philosophy and content of the Turkish Penal 
Code on issues of gender and sexuality. The new Code allows women greater sexual and bodily 
autonomy, for example by criminalising marital rape, and prompted a groundbreaking shift in public 
and social attitudes.  This Research Summary shows how the campaigners successfully achieved thirty 
five progressive amendments to the new code despite the opposition of the ruling religious 
conservative government.
CITIZENS BUILDING 
RESPONSIVE STATES
OCTOBER 2008 
 
Pinar Ilkkaracan
IDS RESEARCH SUMMARY CHANGING TURKEY’S LAWS TO IMPROVE WOMEN’S RIGHTS  OCTOBER 2008 www.ids.ac.uk
  As the new AKP government refused even to 
meet representatives of the Women’s 
Working Group for the Reform of the Turkish 
Penal Code the group decided to broaden its 
efforts by setting up a wider national platform 
with other NGOs, and launching a public 
campaign. The platform included a diverse 
coalition of women’s and lesbian, gay, bisexual 
and transsexual (LGBT) organisations.  
  Generating media and public pressure
  As the campaigners had no allies in the AKP 
government they initially felt there was little 
hope of success. But the campaign’s intensive 
and effective media and public awareness 
campaign succeeded in triggering numerous, 
wide-ranging public debates and made 
frequent headlines. Eventually, the huge public 
and media pressure generated by the 
campaign forced the AKP to acknowledge the 
women’s demands. In September 2004 the 
new Penal Code was accepted by the Turkish 
parliament as women marched in front of the 
building chanting: ‘Our bodies and sexuality 
belong to ourselves!’ 
  Other factors contributing to the campaign’s 
success included:
  • Effective framing: from the outset the 
women’s movement insisted on framing the 
campaign within a national framework, led by 
national actors which thwarted any potential 
arguments by the religious right that the 
platform’s demands were influenced by 
Western values or were incompatible with so-
called Turkish culture
  • The proactive nature of the campaign, and 
the agile way the movement took advantage 
of the EU’s succession process to launch its 
campaign
 • The movement’s determination to keep 
campaigning despite the political setback 
when the AKP was elected to government 
 • An effective mix of influencing tools including 
sustained democratic bargaining, awareness 
raising and efforts to gain public and media 
support
 • The activist’s holistic approach to reform and 
refusal to bargain on specific articles
 • Rigorous analysis and detailed word-by-word 
proposals drawing on the technical expertise 
of academics and lawyers in the Women’s 
Working Group for the Reform of the Turkish 
Penal Code
 • Professional lobbying and campaigning which 
drew on the experience and synergy of the 
Civil Code Campaign and involved meticulous 
coordination and day to day follow up of 
political developments
 • Effective alliance building through the 
establishment of a broad coalition within the 
country, a solidarity network of academics and 
NGOs in other Muslim societies , as well as 
strategic use of allies in the UN and EU to 
increase the movement’s legitimacy with the 
government.
  Insights
  The case study demonstrates that change is 
possible even on contentious issues that are 
opposed by the ruling government, and which 
were not previously on the public agenda. It 
also shows the vital role media and public 
pressure can play in winning change, 
particularly when a campaign lacks 
government allies. The case study also reveals 
how domestic coalitions can use international 
frameworks to add legitimacy to their claims. 
Changing Turkey’s Laws to Improve Women’s Rights
It is possible to achieve progress on contentious and 
previously neglected  issues, even in a politically 
hostile climate“ ”
Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex Brighton BN1 9RE UK
T +44 (0) 1273 606261    F + 44 (0) 1273 621202    E ids@ids.ac.uk    W www.ids.ac.uk
Credits
This Research Summary was 
written by Ruth Mayne, 
Independant Consultant and is 
based on a study by Pinar 
Ilkkaracan, the Founding 
President of Women for 
Women’s Human Rights, 
Turkey.  
The opinions expressed are 
those of the author and do not 
necessarily reflect the views of 
IDS or any of the other 
institutions involved.
Readers are encouraged to 
quote or reproduce material 
from IDS Research Summaries 
in their own publications. In 
return, IDS requests due 
acknowledgement and a copy 
of the publication. 
To read more Research 
Summaries on this topic, and 
the original case studies on 
which they are based, visit:  
www.ids.ac.uk/go/citizens 
 
The Citizenship DRC is an 
international network of 
researchers and activists 
exploring new forms of 
citizenship that will help make 
rights real.   
www.drc-citizenship.org


Changing Turkey?s Laws to Improve Women?s Rights

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Changing Turkey?s Laws to Improve Women?s Rights

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