The Turkish parliament adopted a revision to the country’s civil code formally recognizing women’s equality. Under the revised code, women will no longer need to ask permission from their husbands to work outside of the home. Married women will now enjoy property rights and will be able to keep their maiden names if they choose. Women will also be able to sue for divorce if their husbands commit adultery and will be entitled to alimony and compensation. The Flying Broom, a Turkish women’s rights group, hailed the new code as a “historic turning point.” Women’s rights groups, however, also cautioned that old modes of thinking must change before women achieve true equality in Turkey. The revised code takes effect on January 1, 2002.
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