Conservative line will delay Turks' gender progress

Significance

He claimed Turkey had implemented many reforms to improve women's situation, but he and those around him have adopted an increasingly conservative discourse on women and been accused of hate speech against LGBT+ individuals. Turkey displays high levels of gender inequality, discrimination, intolerance and gender-based violence, especially by European standards.

Impacts

• AKP’s discourse will make it the natural pole for that part of society that will remain very conservative for the foreseeable future.
• Oppositionists will continue criticising the government over violence against women in particular.
• Turkey will have an image problem and difficult relations with the EU and others, with even Saudi Arabia moving to improve women’s status.
• Women’s emancipation is set to continue, however slowly, despite few economic opportunities and COVID-19 increasing their domestic burdens.
• Turkey is likely to mirror gradually increasing global tolerance towards LGBT+ individuals.