BELGIUM: TURKEY'S EU BID RAISES PROFILE OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS.

By Meghan Sapp

BRUSSELS, July 11, 2005 (WOMENSENEWS) Women's rights in Turkey should be monitored annually as part of the country's application to join the European Union, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor last week in Strasbourg, France.

"Women's rights are human rights," said German member of European Parliament Doris Pack, in a Web site statement. "This is a matter of fact, completely independent of the question whether Turkey applies for membership in the E.U. or not. In the resolution--which was supported by all political groups in the European Parliament--we are therefore calling on the European Commission to rigorously monitor the actual implementation of the reforms into day-to-day life."

Included in the Parliament's recommendations is a push for the Turkish government to build more and better shelters for women who are victims of violence. Research they used in creating the report, conducted during the mid- to late-1990s, shows a prevalence of violence against women in all income brackets and well as both rural and urban areas. In some areas of Ankara, domestic violence apparently occurs in nearly 100 percent of families.

At the moment, only 14 shelters exist in the country, all below international standards, according to the parliament's women's committee. 'Good Start' on Harmonizing

Parliamentarians said changes to Turkey's penal code that went into force June 1--criminalizing marital rape and honor killings, including accomplices in honor killings--are a good start towards harmonizing Turkey's policies with the E.U.

But the parliament says issues such as access to education, the work force and political office--as well as protection from domestic violence--must all be addressed before Turkey can join the E.U.