Turkey wants to criminalise adultery

ISTANBUL – Turkey’s government wants to make adultery a crime, the justice minister was quoted as saying on Monday, a proposal that has outraged the main opposition and women’s groups.

Although the legislation would also apply to men, a previous adultery law abolished six years ago was used mainly against women. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which traces its roots to a banned Islamist movement, wants to include the adultery ban in an overhaul of the penal code, promised as part of reforms aimed at meeting European Union criteria.The main opposition party has threatened to vote against the entire penal code reform if the clause on adultery is included in the bill and brought to parliament.”We believe that adultery should be a crime, because society also expects this,” Justice Minister Cemil Cicek was quoted as saying by newspapers.Turkey’s top court struck down a law penalising adultery in 1998 and said in its ruling that the law had been mainly used against women, leading to gender inequality.Although Muslim Turkey has enshrined equality for women, rights groups say discrimination against women remains endemic.The European Union is expected to criticise the lack of equality for women in Turkey in a progress report on the country’s candidacy due in October, diplomats have said.The penal code’s other reforms aim primarily to expand rights to meet the European Union’s basic criteria for membership.The other proposed changes include ending reductions in sentences for those convicted of so-called honour killings, longer prison terms for police found guilty of torture and new penalties for those convicted of racism and other forms of discrimination.- Nampa-ReutersThe ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which traces its roots to a banned Islamist movement, wants to include the adultery ban in an overhaul of the penal code, promised as part of reforms aimed at meeting European Union criteria.The main opposition party has threatened to vote against the entire penal code reform if the clause on adultery is included in the bill and brought to parliament.”We believe that adultery should be a crime, because society also expects this,” Justice Minister Cemil Cicek was quoted as saying by newspapers.Turkey’s top court struck down a law penalising adultery in 1998 and said in its ruling that the law had been mainly used against women, leading to gender inequality.Although Muslim Turkey has enshrined equality for women, rights groups say discrimination against women remains endemic.The European Union is expected to criticise the lack of equality for women in Turkey in a progress report on the country’s candidacy due in October, diplomats have said.The penal code’s other reforms aim primarily to expand rights to meet the European Union’s basic criteria for membership.The other proposed changes include ending reductions in sentences for those convicted of so-called honour killings, longer prison terms for police found guilty of torture and new penalties for those convicted of racism and other forms of discrimination.- Nampa-Reuters