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Friday, April 18, 2014

Turkish Activists Say Their Country Is Sliding Backward On Women's Rights

Turkish Activists Say Their Country Is Sliding Backward On Women's Rights
Posted: 04/18/2014 8:45 am EDT Updated: 04/18/2014 8:59 am EDT

ISTANBUL -- There are few things that shock Pinar Ilkkaracan, one of Turkey’s most prominent women activists. For three decades, she has battled what she describes as stifling sexism and stubborn politicians. But in 2010, in a revealing moment she says still haunts her, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Ilkkaracan and dozens of representatives from Turkey’s top women’s organizations that he simply does not believe in gender equality. It was a shocking blow to her lifetime of work.

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