Child brides discussed in Parliament
Child brides discussed in Parliament
The Flying Broom Women's Communication and Research Association has finished its project "Child Brides: Victims of Destructive Traditions and Patriarchal Social Heritage" after one year of study and research. The project was subsidised by the Sabancý Foundation. Its results were presented at the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) on 27 October.
Over the period of 18 months research was carried out in ten out of a total of 81 Turkish provinces pursuing the aim of counteracting marriages with underage brides.
The final sitting in parliament was organized with the support of the Parliamentary Commission for Equal Opportunities of Women and Men (KEFEK). Speeches were delivered by the Minister of Family and Social Politics, Fatma Þahin; the Chair of the Sabancý Foundation, Zerrin Koyunsaðan; Öznur Çalýk as the head of the 23rd term KEFEK Sub-commission on Research into early Marriage; Head of the 24rd term KEFEK Azize Sibel Gönül and Deputy Prime Minister Binnaz Toprak. Additionally, artist Burhan Þeþen performed the piece "Would you please hear my voice" together with a children's choir - a song composed especially for the project.
"When my friends were going to school, I, as a little girl of 13 had been married with a man, a friend of my father, in his 30s. I was scared when he was at home. I could even not enter in his room. I'll never forgive my father," said an unnamed child bride from Van province, now in her 40s.
It is difficult to determine the exact number of child marriages in Turkey as many go unreported or are unofficial "imam" (religious) ceremonies. "This makes the situation more problematic as they are not registered officially, making it difficult to track them," attorney Vildan Yirmibesoglu told SETimes.
However, according to the Hacettepe University Institute of Population Studies' data, the early marriage rate in Turkey -- defined as marriage at 17 years of age and younger in the 15-49-year-old age group -- is 28% on average. The number includes unofficial religious marriages and shows regional variation, with highs of near 41% in eastern and southeastern Turkey.
Information regarding the counteracting of early marriage and raising awareness was conveyed to 54 provinces in the scope of the project. Seminars were organized and interviews were held with the adult women and younger girls who attended the seminars. These meetings were also attended by teachers, social service experts, sociologists, psychologists, lawyers, physicians, journalists, local executives and representatives of non-governmental organizations.
The stories of the "child brides" were put together in a book entitled "Marriage is too big at young Age: Children Brides". The book contains the stories of women and executives of various institutions as elicited during the interviews in the provinces in the course of the project.
The Flying Broom Association also prepared the "Child Brides" documentary with footage from different provinces and special interviews as part of the project. The documentary approaches the topic under different aspects and reveals the dimensions of the problems behind the depicted life stories.
According to a research presented to Parliamentary Commission on Equal Opportunities for Men and Women in January this year, 5 million 439 thousand women in Turkey are made to marry at very early ages, 7 million women with "family decision" and 2 million women against "bride price".
The report prepared by Dr. Ýlknur Yüksel Kaptanoðlu and Assoc. Dr. Banu Ergöçmen from Hacettepe University Population Studies Institute shows that the labour force participation rate of women is 23.5 percent while this proportion rises to 69.1 percent in men. 27 percent of working women leave their jobs due to marriage, 11 percent due to work-related problems and 11 percent due to child care and pregnancy.
The report stated that the rate of marriages at 18 and younger ages reach up to 39.8 percent of all marriages, while 5 million 439 women marry as a "child bride".
The research presented to parliament also records that the decision of marriage is made by "families" by 52.3 percent, while 2 million women equal to 14.6 percent of women are made to marry against "bride price". The number of women made to marry with a first degree relative is 1 million 700 thousand, 452 thousand 139 women marry with a religious marriage ceremony.
The stories of the Child Brides (from Bianet)
A woman in her forties from Van (eastern Turkey) for example recalled her fear and worries during the beginning of her forced marriage:
"When I was 13 years old and everybody else went to school, I was made to marry a 30-year-old man. I had never seen him before and I did not know him at all. They made me marry him just because he was the son of a friend of my father's. When I saw this person it was as if he was my father. I did not get close to him and I was very afraid during the nights. I did not even enter his room. I always saw him like my father. I can still not get rid of this perception".
A young woman from Diyarbakýr (south-eastern Anatolia) was not able to hold back her anger when she described what it meant to enter marriage when still being a child:
"I married when I was 15 years old. There is no description. You come into a big family and you don't know how to behave. When they come to ask [the parents] to give their daughter into marriage they say she should be young so they can teach her. I did not know for instance that I had to rise to my feet in front of the men so I was beaten the first time. I gave birth to my son when I was 16 years old. When I was 23 my husband passed away".
A young woman from Tekirdað (north-western Turkey) drew attention to the fact that education was able to prevent girls from early marriage:
"I am the only girl in our whole family who studies. My maternal grandmother was married when she was 13 years old. She constantly talked about my [female] cousin at each and every family meeting. Saying 'Fatoþ is left over at home, what are we going to do'. She was trying to find a husband for her. One day I pulled her leg and asked her why she did not talk about me. She replied, 'You are studying, you have saved your life'".
Over the period of 18 months research was carried out in ten out of a total of 81 Turkish provinces pursuing the aim of counteracting marriages with underage brides.
The final sitting in parliament was organized with the support of the Parliamentary Commission for Equal Opportunities of Women and Men (KEFEK). Speeches were delivered by the Minister of Family and Social Politics, Fatma Þahin; the Chair of the Sabancý Foundation, Zerrin Koyunsaðan; Öznur Çalýk as the head of the 23rd term KEFEK Sub-commission on Research into early Marriage; Head of the 24rd term KEFEK Azize Sibel Gönül and Deputy Prime Minister Binnaz Toprak. Additionally, artist Burhan Þeþen performed the piece "Would you please hear my voice" together with a children's choir - a song composed especially for the project.
"When my friends were going to school, I, as a little girl of 13 had been married with a man, a friend of my father, in his 30s. I was scared when he was at home. I could even not enter in his room. I'll never forgive my father," said an unnamed child bride from Van province, now in her 40s.
It is difficult to determine the exact number of child marriages in Turkey as many go unreported or are unofficial "imam" (religious) ceremonies. "This makes the situation more problematic as they are not registered officially, making it difficult to track them," attorney Vildan Yirmibesoglu told SETimes.
However, according to the Hacettepe University Institute of Population Studies' data, the early marriage rate in Turkey -- defined as marriage at 17 years of age and younger in the 15-49-year-old age group -- is 28% on average. The number includes unofficial religious marriages and shows regional variation, with highs of near 41% in eastern and southeastern Turkey.
Information regarding the counteracting of early marriage and raising awareness was conveyed to 54 provinces in the scope of the project. Seminars were organized and interviews were held with the adult women and younger girls who attended the seminars. These meetings were also attended by teachers, social service experts, sociologists, psychologists, lawyers, physicians, journalists, local executives and representatives of non-governmental organizations.
The stories of the "child brides" were put together in a book entitled "Marriage is too big at young Age: Children Brides". The book contains the stories of women and executives of various institutions as elicited during the interviews in the provinces in the course of the project.
The Flying Broom Association also prepared the "Child Brides" documentary with footage from different provinces and special interviews as part of the project. The documentary approaches the topic under different aspects and reveals the dimensions of the problems behind the depicted life stories.
According to a research presented to Parliamentary Commission on Equal Opportunities for Men and Women in January this year, 5 million 439 thousand women in Turkey are made to marry at very early ages, 7 million women with "family decision" and 2 million women against "bride price".
The report prepared by Dr. Ýlknur Yüksel Kaptanoðlu and Assoc. Dr. Banu Ergöçmen from Hacettepe University Population Studies Institute shows that the labour force participation rate of women is 23.5 percent while this proportion rises to 69.1 percent in men. 27 percent of working women leave their jobs due to marriage, 11 percent due to work-related problems and 11 percent due to child care and pregnancy.
The report stated that the rate of marriages at 18 and younger ages reach up to 39.8 percent of all marriages, while 5 million 439 women marry as a "child bride".
The research presented to parliament also records that the decision of marriage is made by "families" by 52.3 percent, while 2 million women equal to 14.6 percent of women are made to marry against "bride price". The number of women made to marry with a first degree relative is 1 million 700 thousand, 452 thousand 139 women marry with a religious marriage ceremony.
The stories of the Child Brides (from Bianet)
A woman in her forties from Van (eastern Turkey) for example recalled her fear and worries during the beginning of her forced marriage:
"When I was 13 years old and everybody else went to school, I was made to marry a 30-year-old man. I had never seen him before and I did not know him at all. They made me marry him just because he was the son of a friend of my father's. When I saw this person it was as if he was my father. I did not get close to him and I was very afraid during the nights. I did not even enter his room. I always saw him like my father. I can still not get rid of this perception".
A young woman from Diyarbakýr (south-eastern Anatolia) was not able to hold back her anger when she described what it meant to enter marriage when still being a child:
"I married when I was 15 years old. There is no description. You come into a big family and you don't know how to behave. When they come to ask [the parents] to give their daughter into marriage they say she should be young so they can teach her. I did not know for instance that I had to rise to my feet in front of the men so I was beaten the first time. I gave birth to my son when I was 16 years old. When I was 23 my husband passed away".
A young woman from Tekirdað (north-western Turkey) drew attention to the fact that education was able to prevent girls from early marriage:
"I am the only girl in our whole family who studies. My maternal grandmother was married when she was 13 years old. She constantly talked about my [female] cousin at each and every family meeting. Saying 'Fatoþ is left over at home, what are we going to do'. She was trying to find a husband for her. One day I pulled her leg and asked her why she did not talk about me. She replied, 'You are studying, you have saved your life'".
