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The Guardian – Erdogan equating abortion with murder has created an outcry, but the opposition has work to do in fighting this off. Words can be explosive in Turkey. They set off chain reactions, which reach far and wide and deepen the existing polarisation of the country. This was the effect of Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent statements on abortion. (…) A strong counter-argument came from Aylin Nazliaka, the female deputy of the main opposition party, CHP. "The prime minister should stop standing guard over women's vaginas," she said. Many journalists have voiced their concerns, women's organisations have led rallies and social media has been buzzing with angry comments. Haberturk, one of the country's major newspapers, published a poll that showed 55.5% of Turkey's citizens are against a possible ban. (…) In Turkey, a country where more than 40% of women experience some kind of violence in their lives, a country that ranks 122nd on World Economic Forum's gender gap index, banning abortion will only mean putting women's lives in danger. Now is the time we need to speak up, calmly, constructively but firmly. Now is the time to remember that our late Ottoman grandmothers, of all religions and ethnicities, worked incredibly hard for women's emancipation and equality. A hundred years later, let us not go back in time. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/14/turkish-gender-gap-abortion-rights" target="_blank">Lire la suite</a></p>
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