The November 2001 reform of the Civil Code is a victory for the whole women's movement. By recognizing the equality of women and men within marriage, the Turkish parliament bowed to pressure that had been maintained for many years.
"This victory is the fruit of at least 10 years of struggle. Because Turkey ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1989, it was obliged to change the Civil Code. This was achieved despite the resistance of the nationalist and conservative government," comments a member of the Turkish coordinating body, who participated in this struggle.
Men are no longer the sole heads of the family. Major changes were made regarding property ownership within marriage: in divorce cases, women will now receive half of the property accumulated during the marriage, and not only property registered in their name. Opposition parties added a clause at the last minute, however, stipulating that this provision will not come into force until 2003.
Some of the other changes: the minimum age for marriage rises to 18 for both sexes (as opposed to 17 for boys and 15 for girls previously). Children born to unmarried parents have the same rights to inherit as children born inside marriage; single persons are authorized to adopt children.
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