Region:Asia Pacific
Current UN Women Plan Period Afghanisthan:2018-2022
World Bank Income Classification:Low Income
The World Bank classifies economies for analytical purposes into four income groups: low, lower-middle, upper-middle, and high income. For this purpose it uses gross national income (GNI) per capita data in U.S. dollars, converted from local currency using the World Bank Atlas method, which is applied to smooth exchange rate fluctuations.
Least Developed Country:Yes
Since 1971, the United Nations has recognized LDCs as a category of States that are deemed highly disadvantaged in their development process, for structural, historical and also geographical reasons. Three criteria are used: per capita income, human assets, and economic vulnerability.
Gender Inequality Index:0.575
GII is a composite metric of gender inequality using three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labour market. A low GII value indicates low inequality between women and men, and vice-versa.
Gender Development Index:0.723
GDI measures gender inequalities in achievement in three basic dimensions of human development: health, education, and command over economic resources.
Population:209,497,025
Source of population data: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2022). World Population Prospects: The 2022 Revision
Male:19,976,265 (9.5%)
Female:189,520,760 (90.5%)
outcome XM-DAC-41146-TUR_D_1.1
Women and girls have improved and equal access to resources, opportunities and rights, and enjoy a life without violence and discrimination
There has been some progress against the achievement of the outcome in 2022. Civil society organizations (CSOs) and municipalities took concrete steps towards improving women’s participation in political life, representation in policy processes, access to municipal services and financial resources. Local and central level authorities improved their plans and procedures for advancing equality and combating violence and harmful practices against women and girls, specifically early and forced marriages. The need for Temporary Special Measures (TSM) and policy measures to eliminate violence against women in politics have been put on the agenda of the Committee on Equal Opportunities between Women and Men in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA). In line with international best practices and the CEDAW Committee Concluding Observations to Turkiye’s 8 th periodic report (July 2022), UN Women advocated for the adoption of TSM to accelerate parity in political representation. Women’s civil society organizations conducted analysis of the existing legal and policy frameworks and identified areas for reform to improve the participation of women in politics. They drafted a package of legislative amendments on the Constitution, Political Parties Law and Laws related to elections, as well as the bylaws of the TGNA. UN Women supported the development of the package through technical assistance. Women are gaining improved access to resources and opportunities in Istanbul and Bodrum municipalities with the effective implementation of Local Equality Action Plans (LEAP). Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality LEAP (2021-2024) and Bodrum Municipality LEAP (2022-2024) have started to be implemented by integrating gender responsive budgeting approach as a result of the knowledge and skills local officials gained through trainings conducted by UN Women. Gender responsive municipal plans and budgets are key to ensure local level public services contribute to women’s empowerment and women and men benefit equally from these services. Moreover, Bodrum Municipality institutionalized its efforts by allocating resources to establish a Women and Family Services Department for the first time for coordinating the shelter, women’s counseling center and gender equality unit and implementation of the LEAP. The foundations to increase the mobility and safety of women in public spaces are set in Ankara by the Metropolitan Municipality. Ankara Metropolitan Municipality installed panic buttons in public parks and identified the locations for establishment of new child-care facilities. This will also contribute to increased participation of women with small children in economic and social life. The identification of locations for the child-care services and panic buttons is result of an innovative online tool developed with UN Women’s support. “Purple Map” ( Mor Haritam ) is an online interactive platform that supports municipalities to match the citizens’ disaggregated data with the services and to identify the gaps. Application users can provide feedback on their satisfaction with available services and their needs. The Purple Map tool can be used and adapted by any municipality in the country. In 2022, Eskisehir Metropolitan Municipality launched the Purple Map, with UN Women’s support. A civil society organization - Black Sea New Horizons Association - produced purple map for a district of Samsun called Atakum. In 2022, 17 provinces revised and four provinces newly developed comprehensive, evidence-based and needs-based draft Local Action Plans to Combat Early and Forced Marriages (EFM)-for 2023-2025 with the instruction of the Ministry of Family and Social Services in line with one of the goals of the 4 th National Action Plan on Combatting Violence against Women (2021-2025). The new and revised plans have been submitted to the Provincial Governorships for initial approval, upon which will be submitted to the Ministry of Family and Social Services for final approval. All plans have been developed in line with the international norms and standards, in particular the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and other UN conventions. In collaboration with the MFSS Directorate General on Women's Status and UNICEF, UN Women organized trainings on developing such local action plans for government and civil society representatives from the 21 provinces, reaching 132 public officials and 103 institutions. The trainings also resulted in the creation of a foundation for effective inter-institutional coordination in combating EFM; the incorporation of the issue of EFM into the institutional commitments of relevant stakeholders; and the identification and development of solutions for issues related to EFM that have not been prioritized or addressed in the provinces before. Ministry of Justice Legal Support and Victim Services Department started amending its circular 154/1 on Prevention of Domestic Violence and Violence against Women and issued the updated circular 154/2 in early 2023. These are important steps to enhance women’s access to justice and effective implementation of “Law No: 6284 to Protect Family and Prevent Violence against Women" with efficient victim services. The circular reflects measures relating to due diligence, risk management, prevention of secondary victimization, and rights-based approach; with a strengthened focus on evidence collection, increased use of ankle monitors, detention in cases of breach, and consideration of measures under civil and criminal law to complement Law No:6284 procedures where applicable. UN Women facilitated the workshops for judges and prosecutors on Law No:6284 and related legal framework and fostered a platform of discussion on gaps, challenges and opportunities in 2022. Legal arguments and field-level feedbacks from the workshops contributed to the finalization of the circular and inspired the content. 22 women’s rights/women-led civil society organizations increased their capacity and advocacy skills on advancing women’s rights in key areas such as: elimination of violence against women and girls and access to justice. These CSOs are now better able to deliver on their mandates and sustain their activities with improved corporate management, communication capacities and technical infrastructure. In some cases, the CSOs have piloted new models of service delivery that can be scaled in the future, most notably, the CSO KADAV, in partnership with Sisli Municipality in Istanbul, established a “First Step Station” - an intermediary institution to provide immediate temporary protection services for women exposed to or at risk of violence. In 2022, 23 other CSOs received funding and capacity development support to advance their work on women's empowerment, gender equality and elimination of violence against women. UN Women contributed this through its long-lasting technical support from 2021 on including financial assistance. UN Women started contributing to the highest level planning process of the Government’s development policy in Türkiye for enhancing women's access to rights and resources. . In late 2022, Government of Türkiye officially started the preparations of the next National Development Plan that will be effective for the 2024-2028 period and formed several multi-stakeholder Technical Committees. UN Women is taking an active part in the Technical Committee on Women in Development and is chairing the Sub-group on Economy, Education, Climate Justice and Participation to Decision Making Mechanisms. UN Women’s partners from civil society and the private sector have been as well invited to take part in the work of the Technical Committees. Country strategy and theory of change for this outcome is largely still applicable. However, given the ambition of the outcome and country’s political, social, and cultural context, outcomes and impacts are expected to be achieved in a longer time period.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-TUR_D_1.2
By 2025, Persons under the Law on Foreigners and International Protection are supported towards self-reliance.
In Gaziantep and Izmir, more than 1,800 women and girls from refugee and host communities who benefited from services provided at UN Women-supported women only centers improved their resilience capacities and reported that they feel more empowered and confident. They took a step towards empowerment and participation in public and economic life by developing their Turkish language, digital and technical skills and by receiving social support and accessing basic services to better cope with the challenges. Baseline and endline surveys in 2021 and 2022 with women who participated in livelihood activities at these two centers demonstrated that overall gender sensitive resilience index score increased by 7%. The number of households with sources of income through employment/self-employment increased from 22% to 38%. Surveys also demonstrated significant increase in access to protection, legal assistance, healthcare as well as empowerment of women in decision making at household level. In 2022, refugees and host communities increased their knowledge and skills to exercise their leadership, support each other and to advocate for their needs with local decision-makers. Peer-to-peer support that involved around 100 women leaders from Gaziantep and Izmir municipalities were the main catalyser of this result. More specifically, the Eve Women Committee in Izmir, Tomorrow’s Women Committee and SADA Women’s Cooperative in Gaziantep, as grassroots women’s organizations and groups, demonstrated their leadership role and agency in strengthening resilience of their communities and developing community-based solutions. As organized peer support groups consisting of Turkish and Syrian women, the Committees in both locations played an important role in identifying and supporting women and girls in hard-to-reach areas. The Committees have been supported by UN Women on various thematic areas such as leadership, gender mainstreaming, and need assessments which have strengthened the capacities of women as community leaders. The committees regularly conduct events on critical topics such as violence against women, child, early and forced marriages, income generation, social protection, and social cohesion. These events aim to provide a platform for women to come together, share their experiences and learn from one another while also raising awareness on the issues they face. The committees also work closely with local authorities and service providers to ensure that the women and girls they support have access to the necessary resources and support. Additionally, SADA Women Cooperative from Gaziantep adopted a five-year business plan with revised internal procedures of procurement and finance. The shareholders of the Cooperative composed of Turkish, Syrian, and Afghan women, continued to expand their reach to international markets and increased profitability with the support of UN Women. Besides, in five districts of Gaziantep and one district of Istanbul, priority needs (sanitary sewerage, lightning, pedestrian crossing, recreation areas and others ) of women from refugee and host communities were became key components of municipal Action Plans. These are results of the effective implementation of ‘Neighbourhood Resilience Programme’. The women involved in the programme become focal points of information and referral for the most marginalized women in their communities, communicated their needs to the local authorities and provided assistance in accessing to services and opportunities. UN Women’s gender sensitive service delivery model applied at two women-only centers and neighbourhoods reaching out to the most excluded and marginalized women that have little or no access to existing services recognized as a best practice for effective and holistic service provision model in previous regional and country level evaluations. To this end, UN Women partnered with Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, the Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants, Refugee Support Center, Reach Alternatives and Foundation for the Support of Women Work and provided oversight, financial and technical support to the partners as well as coordination of the relevant local and national stakeholders. Theory of change is still valid. However, Ukrainian crisis has had a significant impact on resource mobilization for the Refugee Response Programme of Türkiye Country Office, as donor attention and resources have been focused on the conflict and its aftermath. This has led challenges regarding continuation of the Refugee Response Programme which the Country Office paid utmost attention and efforts during the reporting period.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-TUR_D_1.3
By 2025, governance systems are more transparent, accountable, inclusive and rights-based with the participation of civil society, and quality of judicial services is improved.
There has been progress in 2022 towards achievement of this UNSDCF outcome. The Government of Türkiye continued its efforts of mainstreaming equality between women and men in development and monitoring of annual public budget programmes of public institutions. The number of sex-disaggregated performance indicators has increased from 39 to 51 in Türkiye’s Central Government Budget for 2023 covering all Line Ministries and central level institutions which was announced in late 2022. The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, General Directorate of Local Authorities updated the Budget Preparation Guideline for Municipalities 2023-2024 in July 2022 and stressed the necessity of the gender responsive budgeting (GRB)approach and gender sensitive indicators in the budget process. The guideline is one of the main documents used by local administrations in budget preparation and the new references are an important entry-point for promoting gender perspective in municipal budgets. Gender responsive municipal budgets are key to ensure local level public services contribute to women’s empowerment and women and men benefit equally from these services. This process has been initiated by official recommendation by Ministry of Family and Social Services Directorate General on Women’s Status and supported by the increased capacities and understanding of heads of units at General Directorate of Local Authorities through technical trainings provided by UN Women. In 2022, senior managers and experts from line Ministries increased their awareness and knowledge on GRB through UN Women-supported trainings and some have already demonstrated their willingness to apply this knowledge in their programmes. The Ministry of Industry and Technology introduced a new measure targeting specifically improvement of women’s economic activities on digital platforms under the women’s empowerment budget programme in the Presidency of Government of Türkiye Annual Programme for 2023. In 2022, 504 public officials from all ministries and central level government institutions gained awareness, knowledge, and tools on GRB through in-depth trainings and programme analysis as evidenced in pre and post assessments. UN Women also pursued high level advocacy, shared international best practice experiences and facilitated technical discussions between key institutions engaging in budgeting processes in partnership with Ministry of Family and Social Services, Presidency of Strategy and Budget and respective Parliamentary Committees in Türkiye under a comprehensive programme on gender responsive planning and budgeting [1] .. Capacity building efforts in previous years and introduction of specific references in the Budget Preparation Guidelines for 2023-2025 also had positive impact on improvements in 2023’s public budget programmes as mid-term. Ministry of Family and Social Services provided overall coordination of the government institutions in their engagement in capacity development activities, Presidency of Strategy and Budget took active part in delivery of trainings and seminars and provided concrete recommendations on indicators to the line ministries. The Theory of change in relation with this outcome is valid and it is expected to have further improvements and long-term achievements in upcoming years in systematic integration of gender responsive budgeting as good budgeting by public institutions at central and local level as the interventions in this field continue. These achievements will contribute to addressing needs of women and men equally and ensure women’s and men’s equal access to opportunities and resources in line with national and international commitments and frameworks. [1] www.equalbudgeting.orgShowing 1 - 3 of 3
Disclaimer and notes
The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.
References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).
References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).
Form