Women This Week: Women Make Significant Gains in Turkey's Local Elections

Opposition Pushes Ruling Party Out in Turkey 

Local elections in Turkey have led to a near-tripling of the number of female mayors in the country. In a surprise development, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AKP Party suffered a stunning defeat, and the main opposition—the Republican People’s Party (CHP)—won mayoralties in most major cities and provinces. Women are now mayors in eleven out of eighty-one provinces, including in five prominent urban centers. This is an increase from the four female mayors elected in 2019. Ten of the eleven female winners were from the CHP party. This development is being seen as a pushback on recent efforts to erode women’s rights. “The election took place between two sharp lines. One was the mentality that saw women as second-class, and the other defended women's freedom. The public chose the latter,” said Gulistan Sonuk, who became a newly elected co-mayor from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party. “The last thing they wanted was to lose to a young woman. That makes me incredibly proud.” 

Women’s Rights Activists Sentenced to Decades in Iran 

An Iranian Revolutionary Court has sentenced eleven women’s rights advocates to harsh prison terms following their arrest in August 2023. Together, their sentences amount to over sixty years in prison. One advocate, Zohreh Dadras, was sentenced to nearly ten years for “forming a group to act against national security.” Others were sentenced to over six years for “assembly and collusion to act against national security,” and two women were given additional one-year sentences for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic.” In response, Iranian activist Gohar Eshghi said: “This government fears the influence of women. What wrong have my daughters in Gilan committed to warrant over sixty years of imprisonment? Why aren't the thieves and embezzlers being imprisoned...?” In addition, authorities in Tehran’s Evin prison denied medical care for Sedigheh Vasmaghi, who was arrested for violating the hijab laws. And another prominent activist, Sepideh Qoliyan, has started a hunger strike.  

First Woman Prime Minister in the Democratic Republic of Congo  

The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, has appointed Judith Suminwa Tuluka as the first female prime minister in the country’s history. President Tshisekedi has pledged to tackle inequality in the DRC, which has been plagued by decades of conflict resulting in wide-scale violence against women. In her inauguration speech, Tuleka, a former finance minister, added, “I am aware of the great responsibility that is mine... We will work for peace and development” so that the “Congolese people can benefit from the resources” of the country. Tuluka will be taking power as the crisis in eastern Congo intensifies. Rwanda-based rebels are continuing to seize territories, and at least seven million people are estimated to be displaced.