Turkey: New Bill has drawn outrage from women’s rights campaigners
A new Bill allowing muftis to authorise civil marriages threatens toincrease child marriage and has drawn outrage from women’s rightscampaigners. The Turkish Parliament has just approved a Bill, introduced by Turkey’s ruling party, which authorises muftis (religious representatives) to perform civil marriages.The government argues that the changes will make the marriage process easier but women’s organisations oppose the Bill on the grounds that it is against the principles of secularism and women’s rights and are calling for it to...