YES to Turkey
Reader comment on item: Symposium: Turkey: The Road to Sharia?
in response to reader comment: YES to Turkey

Submitted by MARMARIS (United Kingdom), Apr 7, 2009 at 19:05

some says Turkey is geographically not part of Europe ; WRONG !

But then again is Cyprus considered to be geographically a part of Europe?

The obvious answer must be "Yes" as it is already a member of the European Union.
But Cyprus is further east than half of Turkey.

Mainland Turkey still has a higher population in Europe (around 11 million), than Greece (around 10.6 million), and Belgium (around 10.3 million).
Besides, as it is suggested in an article published in the Herald Tribune, from a geographical point of view, Europe is not even a continent.

some says There is no equality between men and women in Turkey WRONG !

So you think Turkish men lock their wives at home! And the only responsibility of Turkish women is to raise children! Sorry but you are wrong...

Turkish women gained their right to elect and to be elected in 1934, tens of years earlier than many European countries such as France and Switzerland.

Since the foundation of the Republic, Turkey had 171 female MPs and even had a woman PM between the years 1993 and 1995.

A current hot topic in the country is whether to put a minimum quota on the number of female MPs to ensure that women are actively contributing to the politics and administration of the country.

According to an ILO survey, during 1998, the female activity rate in the workforce in Turkey was equal to Italy's in the same year.

According to a 1998 European Technology Assessment Net (ETAN) report, Turkey had the highest number of women professors (Full) in Europe, America and Australia.

some says Western values do not match Turkish values ! WRONG !

Which Western Values do you have in mind? Can they be values related to religion?

If this is the case, then we would appreciate you to consider why 70 % of the Country with moderate Muslim population supports membership to the European Union if they themselves believed that their values are so different.

If you are concerned about the predominant religion of Turkey please remember that Turkey is NOT an Islamic country.

In Turkey, secularity is the warranty of democracy. Contrary to other countries with Muslim populations, the people of Turkey are free to live as they wish and are not subject to any religious bans, obligations or religious authorities. In that sense, people can live their daily lives without any social or religious pressure from anyone. This is one of the features Turkey is most proud of.

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