06/02/2024 | Writer: Oğulcan Özgenç
In this part of our #localelection24 file, we talked to Sinem Mısırlıoğlu of the Women’s Coalition about women and LGBTI+ friendly municipal policies.
As the local elections draw nearer, the candidates for the mayoral elections are becoming visible. Candidates’ promises to voters are also turning out to be clear. As in every local election, one of the most important questions that women and LGBTI+ people, who experience discrimination at the local and everyday level, are curious about is whether gender-sensitive municipalism plans will be developed.
So, what is a women and LGBTI+ friendly municipality? What are its basic principles? Are there any existing local practices in Turkey that allow for creating gendered policies? What are the steps that need to be taken in order to develop a women and LGBTI+ friendly approach to municipalism in Turkey?
We had a discussion about all this with Sinem Mısırlıoğlu from the Women’s Coalition.
Starting with defining the LGBTI+ and women-friendly municipalism, Mısırlıoğlu points out the “subject position” of women and LGBTI+s instead of a “guest” during their relation with the city. Because according to her in hospitality:
“It is the host who sets the limits of what can be done and what cannot be done: If we think of cities in this way, cities that have been designed with a disregard for our identities are the ones that determine what and how much we can do, where we can be at what time, how we can be, and many other vital elements. It takes away our freedoms. Everyone else is treated as a guest, some as an unwanted guest and some as an intruder in cities designed for fellow citizens who are heterosexual, male, able-bodied, young and citizens. LGBTI+ friendly municipalism is an understanding of municipalism that plans cities where we are hosts, not guests, together with the subjects.”
According to her it is possible to talk about a municipality where citizens are not left behind and excluded, where they feel safe, where they have equal access to services and resources, but above all, where they can have a say in their own lives, where safe, accessible, egalitarian, participatory tools and mechanisms are provided to enable them to have their say.
“Municipalities place human rights outside of everyday life”
Mısırlıoğlu also spoke about the historical background of women and LGBTI+ friendly municipal policies. Stating that the concept of creating genderless cities emerged in the 1970s thanks to feminist criticism, which reveals that cities were primarily designed to meet the needs of men, Mısırlıoğlu underlined that this discussion led to imagining the possibilities of gender-neutral cities. She explained that it spans from the 1970s to the present day and includes various feminist debates, conferences, charters and conventions such as the First World Conference on Women, CEDAW, the European City Charter, the Beijing Declaration and the Istanbul Convention. Emphasizing the importance of the action plans, sustainability goals, local political activities by women’s and LGBTI+ organizations, municipality monitoring efforts, street protests, pride marches and programs implemented by civil society organizations, public institutions and international organisations at local and national levels she said: “These collective efforts have aimed to promote equality, combat violence against women and create inclusive spaces for all genders in cities.”
Pointing out that each of these documents have different functions such as creating a ground for thinking about women and LGBTI+ friendly municipalism, strengthening their communities, advocating for egalitarian cities Mısırlıoğlu remarked that the CEMR European Charter of Equality of Women and Men in Local Life and the UN Sustainable Development Goals are the most useful ones for her while working on local politics and gender-responsive municipalities. And she added that municipal monitoring studies prepared by women’s and LGBTI+ organizations are also essential to notice that “Municipalities place human rights in an abstract, out of everyday life, hidden in international documents.”
According to her, the best way to reach out to and engage with local governments is to show them the connection between women’s rights and LGBTI+ rights, human rights and local governments because in doing so, it is possible to make visible the power and the impact that municipalities can have in making the world a better place to live for all.
“Approaches are not only about women and LGBTI+”
Mısırlıoğlu talked about the historical process that paved the way for considering these concepts in Turkey. She said that the United Nations Population Fund has implemented the Women Friendly Cities Program in Turkey, bringing together different stakeholders such as the government, the private sector, civil society organizations, including Ka-Der Ankara, and international institutions. She thinks that this program has contributed to the concept of Women Friendly Cities in Turkey and has become a brand value for municipalities. And as a result the program has empowered women’s organizations and strengthened their work in the field. Underlining that Women and LGBTI+ friendly municipal approaches aim to ensure a life worthy of human dignity and the realization of universal human rights for all individuals, not only about women and LGBTI+, she lists these as participation, gender equality, non-discrimination and respect for human rights are and believes that there is a need to set clear standards within these principles for women and LGBTI+ friendly municipalities. According to her the priority issues for setting such standards include participation, housing rights, poverty alleviation, safety, violence prevention, transport accessibility, service provision and disaster management and adds that the definition of these standards is a dynamic process, expanding over time and reflecting the evolving rights landscape.
“Housing is turning into a struggle for life for women and LGBTI+s”
However, she says that the current approach to municipal issues ignores the concept of gender, resulting in difficulties for women and LGBTI+ people, particularly in relation to housing: “Housing is turning into a struggle for life for women and LGBTI+s.” And she draws attention to the experiences after the earthquake on February 6: “Women were forced to return to their divorced husbands for shelter, eviction orders were not enforced and they were forced to send their children to their husbands.” According to her the relation between disasters and gender, and property and gender, is also evident in these situations. On the other side the problem of transgender people’s access to housing rights has been going on for years, she remarks. Citing the good practices from other countries, such as the UK and Spain, which have implemented transport policies with a gender strategy, recognizing that gender differences affect transport habits, she emphasizes that it is not possible to achieve a women and LGBTI+ friendly municipalism without addressing each rights issue from a gender perspective.
“Our gender identities draw the boundaries of how much we can exist in the city we live in”
According to Mısırlıoğlu the concept of women-friendly municipalism highlights the importance of clarifying standards for the participation of women and LGBTI+ people in local government. She thinks that participation is not only a principle, but also a struggle for freedom, as true freedom means having a say in one’s own life and determining the boundaries of everyday life because: “Our gender identities draw the boundaries of how much we can exist in the city we live in and our presence in determining the city’s spaces and services is only possible through participation.” She underlines that the concept emphasizes the need to create participation methods and mechanisms that go beyond traditional political participation.
Regarding good practice examples of women and LGBTI+ friendly municipalities, she expresses skepticism and fatigue due to the ongoing struggle for gender equality. Mısırlıoğlu stresses the importance of not seeing these examples as mere successes or reasons for celebration, but rather as a source of hope, at least for herself. She is critical of examples that may be limited by the interests of mayors and public officials or influenced by political pressure, as they may not truly prioritize the needs and agency of women and LGBTI+ people. Mısırlıoğlu acknowledges the work of organizations such as the Women’s Coalition and LGBTI+ organizations in monitoring gender policies in local governments, but suggests a focus on practices that contribute to the development of gender policies rather than activity-oriented examples.
Practices that contribute to gender policy making
Mısırlıoğlu also discusses different practices that contribute to gender mainstreaming such as the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality and the Ankara Çankaya Municipality which are among examples of embedding and mainstreaming gender equality in local policies, with the former having a Local Equality Board and the latter having an Equality and Awareness Bureau. She highlights the role of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality's “Purple Map” application and mobile outreach vehicles in ensuring access to information and services for all. She also mentions the joint preparation of the “Violence Attitude Document” by the Gender Equality Commission of Muğla Bodrum Municipality and the Bodrum Women’s Solidarity Association as a good example. Drawing attention to the deepening poverty in Turkey, Mısırlıoğlu recognizes the discussion group of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s Food Strategy Document, which includes representatives from various organizations and institutions, for its inclusiveness in addressing gender equality in access to healthy food. She also notes the participation of the municipalities of Şişli, Nilüfer and Beşiktaş in the international organization “Rainbow Cities”, as well as various municipal initiatives such as training on LGBTI+ rights, social awareness campaigns and counselling services for HIV-AIDS testing and support.
“The political pressure on the LGBTI+ movement is making the process more difficult”
According to her the outlook for women and LGBTI+ friendly municipalities in Turkey is hopeful however faces challenges due to political pressure. She thinks that the Charter of Equality of Women and Men in Local Life, ratified by 37 municipalities in Turkey, should be implemented by the Union of Municipalities of Turkey (TBB). Because Circular No. 201/10 encourages gender equality mechanisms at the local level, although there were reports of it being repealed, it remains valid in practice. She underlines that the TBB, as part of the structure implementing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, should take the lead and promote widespread gender equality.
Developing women and LGBTI+ friendly municipalism requires the collaboration of organizations and municipalities, the establishment of local equality mechanisms and plans, strong partnerships with civil society organizations, and consultation mechanisms. Despite “The political pressure on women and the LGBTI+ movement is making the process more difficult”, she believes that the history of the feminist movement in Turkey is always able to find creative ways to struggle and broaden spaces, and will continue to do it: “Even when the process is clouded by oppression, we have always been able to find creative ways in order to widen the narrow spaces.”
Translation: Selma Koçak
Tags: human rights, women, life
