Time for Turkish women's voices to be heard- by Diba Nigar Goksel

Turkey's elections resulted in an increase in the number of women in the 550-seat parliament from 48 to 78.

At 14 per cent, the proportion of women in the new parliament is higher than in at least two European Union states, Romania and Cyprus, according to figures compiled by the Inter-Parliamentary Union. But it still falls well below the EU average, and even the world average of about 19 per cent.
In his victory speech, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, said that "no one should doubt that we will protect the dignity, faith and lifestyles of those who did not vote for us".

But the fact is, some do doubt - among them a dynamic movement of women's NGOs that both pressured and assisted Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) in legislating pro-women reforms between 2002 and 2005. The AKP has been applauded by liberal Turks and Western observers alike for being receptive to the lobbying of these women's organisations, and for enshrining gender equality in Turkey's civil and penal codes, as well as launching progressive initiatives to combat domestic violence and increase the rate of girls' education. In the past few years though, trust has dipped and friction has increasingly surfaced between the ruling party and these same activists.

For more: Time for Turkish women's voices to be heard - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

Saudi Arabia - Guardian System : Female Saudi doctor appeals to top court for right to choose a husband

Samia is a Saudi surgeon who, as she says, is "supposed to be a grandma by now." But she's not even married yet. As with many women in Saudi Arabia, choosing a husband was not solely up to her according to Saudi Guardian law. Her father and brothers demanded that she marry a cousin, and, she says, beat her when she refused. For the past five years, she has lived in a shelter for battered women. "I'm a surgeon. I'm responsible for people's lives," says Samia, now in her 40s. "I want to be responsible for my own life."

The guardianship system, which stems from tribal traditions and is deeply entrenched in Saudi Arabia's culture and legal system, requires women to get their guardians' permission to marry. Although many men respect their female relatives' wishes, others do not, despite warnings from Muslim leaders.
Samia's situation, described in multiple interviews both in person and via phone and e-mail, is not unusual in Saudi Arabia. It illustrates how this country's guardianship system gives men almost complete control over female relatives, as well as how little recourse women have to escape abusive guardians. She has taken her case to two courts, which both ruled against her, and she and her lawyer now seek a hearing in the country's Supreme Court.

Under Islam, a woman has the right to choose her partner, provided she is morally upright. "Forcing a woman to marry someone she does not want and preventing her from wedding [the man] whom she chooses ... is not permissible," Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Asheikh, the kingdom's top religious authority, has said.

For more: Female Saudi doctor appeals to top court for right to choose a husband - CSMonitor.com