In February, Turkey formally eliminated a law that allowed school officials to conduct physical exams on female students to ensure they were still virgins.

The law allowed schools to expel girls who engaged in pre-marital sex, and gave them the authority to conduct physical exams of girls as young as 14 suspected of having sex.

It had not been applied since 1999, however, when a judge ordered a halt to the virginity tests unless required for a criminal inquiry. Unfortunately this judicial decision only came after a horrible tragedy — five girls tried to killed themselves rather than undergo the virginity tests.

Source:

Turkey scraps virginity tests. The BBC, February 28, 2002.

On January 1, 2002, far reaching revisions to Turkey’s civil code went into effect that go a long way toward recognizing men and women as equals. Unfortunately, many women’s groups in Turkey do not feel the changes go far enough, and in fact there is a serious deficiency in the revision.

On the positive side, the revisions essentially end the supreme position that men enjoyed when it came to domestic matters. All property in marriage is now jointly owned by husband and wife. A woman will no longer need her husband’s permission to work outside the home, and women are now able to sue for divorce if their husband commits adultery, as well as have a right to property and potentially alimony after a divorce.

Unfortunately, the law is not retroactive, meaning that it only applies to newly married couples. The 17 million already-married Turkish women will not have the right, for example, to ask for alimony or half of the property owned by the couple, which makes this a rather bittersweet victory.

Sources:

Turkish women score victory for equality. The BBC, November 24, 2001.

Turkish women get equal rights. The BBC, January 1, 2002.