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1.  Discrimination on the basis of sex.  The Committee notes the statistical information for 1998 supplied by the Government relative to the situation of women in education and employment, as well as the information contained in the report on the Project for Promoting the Employment of Women (attached to the Government’s report) concerning the situation of women in the Turkish labour market in 1996. In this regard, the Committee notes the extremely low level of education among women. The data provided indicate that, as of October 1998, almost four times as many women as men (22.4 per cent of women compared with 5.9 per cent of men) were illiterate. The percentage of women completing primary school appears to have increased from 48 per cent in 1996 to 51.1 per cent in 1998.The percentage of women in the labour force remains low, at 27.9 per cent.

2.  The Committee notes from the report on the Project that 58 per cent of Turkish women have not attended any training courses outside of the official education system. Of those receiving training, a large number have attended classes in subjects such as sewing, embroidery and carpet weaving, which are considered to be traditional female occupations. In this connection, the Committee points out that vocational guidance and training is intended to play an important role in opening a wide range of occupations free of considerations based on stereotypes according to which certain trades or occupations are reserved for a particular sex, which in turn permits the promotion of a genuine policy of equality of opportunity and treatment. In its previous direct request, the Committee noted the information supplied by the Government in its combined second and third periodic country reports to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) concerning its efforts to address the disadvantages faced by women in the Turkish labour market, particularly through revision of legislation, improving vocational training and through the National Employment Agency’s Employment and Education Project. In this regard, the Committee notes with interest that, out of 3,379 employment-guaranteed training courses conducted by the National Employment Agency since 1993, approximately 60 per cent of the participants were women and that the participation rate of women in 787 business start-up programmes was 84 per cent for the same period. The Committee requests the Government to continue to supply information on progress made in this regard, and to provide a copy of the Employment and Education Project as well as statistical information on the participation of women in the workforce and in education. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information in its next report, including up-to-date and comprehensive statistical data, on the percentage of women in employment, showing the percentage of women employed in the urban population, the percentage employed in the rural population, and the percentages of women in and their distribution by sector and industry in both public and private sector employment.

3.  Referring to its previous comments on the legal framework regulating the situation of women in work and family life, the Committee recalls the Government’s indication in its report to CEDAW that a bill had been prepared which addresses certain discriminatory provisions in the Turkish Civil Code and that all discriminatory clauses in the national legislation are under review, including section 17(1)(a) of the Labour Code, which entitles an employer to terminate a female worker’s contract without notice at the end of the paid maternity leave period. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the status of the proposed legislation in its next report and to provide copies of any amendments to the Civil and Labour Codes, once they are adopted.

4.  Further to its previous comments on the issue of the appointment of women to high administrative posts, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that the establishment of a quota system is being considered with a view to increasing the number of women representatives elected to the local (provincial and municipal) assemblies. In respect of women’s access to higher-level posts in the public administration, including positions of decision-making authority, the Committee notes that the right of any person not to suffer discrimination under the Convention also relates to advancement in the course of employment and that, for a system of advancement to be free of discrimination, it must first eliminate vertical occupational segregation, a phenomenon that commonly affects women. The Committee reminds the Government that positive action measures could include, apart from quotas, the provision of training and occupational guidance designed to enable women to compete more effectively for higher posts. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on measures taken to improve women’s access to higher level positions in the public administration, including statistical data on the distribution of men and women in the different posts and at the different levels of administration.

5.  The 1979 discipline rules pertaining to the police force.  The Government indicates that sections 31 through 33 of the 1979 discipline rules are intended to ensure the objectivity and impartiality of the police when assigned to tasks such as providing security for meetings and demonstrations and dispersing illegal meetings and demonstrations. The Government further indicates that this impartiality is considered to be an inherent requirement of the job. The Committee recalls that in the public service, particularly with regard to highly responsible posts or positions of trust, a certain obligation of neutrality can be required without nullifying the protection afforded by the Convention (see General Survey of 1998, at paragraph 46). Referring to its previous comments, the Committee points out that cases in which political opinion is taken into consideration as a prerequisite for a given job should be objectively examined under judicial scrutiny to determine whether this prerequisite is truly warranted by the inherent requirements of the position. The Committee therefore asks the Government to indicate whether any judicial or administrative tribunals have applied and interpreted sections 31 through 33 of the 1979 discipline rules and to provide copies of any such decisions.