MERSIN – The 11th Judicial Package, prepared by Turkey’s Ministry of Justice as part of a new “judicial reform,” has sparked strong criticism from women’s organizations. Çiğdem Göksoy, chair of the Mimoza Women’s Association, said the draft law directly targets women’s and children’s rights, warning that it represents a serious step backward for gender equality in Turkey.

 

The 28-article draft introduces sweeping changes to the justice system, ranging from provisions on mental health and juvenile justice to stricter rules on gender reassignment and online content regulation. Among its proposals are raising the age limit for gender reassignment to 25, imposing heavier penalties on minors, granting the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) wider powers to remove online content, and criminalizing the blocking of vehicle movement during demonstrations.

 

‘A DIRECT ATTACK ON WOMEN’S GAINS’

 

She described the package as an attack on the hard-won rights of women and children, arguing that it reflects a broader political agenda that seeks to confine women to traditional roles. She linked the government’s decision to declare 2025 the “Family Year” to what she called “a project of social engineering that narrows and controls women’s identities.”

 

“When the family is sanctified, control over women deepens,” she said. “The family becomes a miniature version of the state, where power and authority are constantly reproduced. Today, hundreds of women are being killed inside these so-called sacred homes—more than 300 in just the past six months, mostly by men they knew.”

 

Cigdem Goksoy said the state continues to define women through domestic labor, childcare, and reproduction, pushing them out of public life. “This system, fueled by impunity, traps women in the same cycle. Those who try to speak out are silenced and forced back into the home,” she added.

 

Cigdem Goksoy also argued that the trend extends beyond Turkey’s borders, reflecting the rise of right-wing and authoritarian governments worldwide. She said: “Across the globe, conservative regimes are reshaping womanhood under the guise of religious and national values. In Muslim societies, women are expected to be ‘modest and devout’; in Christian ones, ‘family-oriented and moral.’ In every case, women’s autonomy is restricted.”

 

Referring to the legacy of feminist and Kurdish women’s movements, Göksoy underlined that the struggle for women’s rights is inherently political. “The control over women’s bodies, labor, and voices is not only a gender issue, it’s a matter of political power,” she said.

 

‘A THREAT TO FREEDOMS AND CHILDREN’S RIGHTS’

 

Warning that the 11th Judicial Package legitimizes state interference in women’s private lives, Cigdem Goksoy said the draft law could “narrow women’s living spaces” under the pretext of protecting moral values. “It opens the door to control over how women dress, appear in public, or even hold hands,” she noted.

 

She also criticized the removal of gender equality concepts from public institutions, saying it could lead to the dismantling of women’s shelters and counseling centers. “This package erases decades of struggle and achievements,” Cigdem Goksoy said, adding that it also criminalizes LGBT+ identities and transforms the juvenile justice system into a punitive mechanism.

 

She emphasized the need for policies that empower women socially and economically through local solidarity networks, cooperatives, and employment programs and added: “Without women’s empowerment, neither freedom nor equality can truly exist.”

 

MA / Mehmet Gules - Abdulkadir Ayten