of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance,
1979; the Offence of Qazf (Enforcement of Hadd)
Ordinance, VIII, 1979; and the Prohibition (En-
forcement of Hadd) Ordinance.
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August 1984.
Rubya MehdiTurkeyArticle 10/1 of the constitution of the Republic of
Turkey provides for equality before the law: “All
individuals are equal before the law, irrespective of
language, race, color, sex, political opinion, philo-
sophical belief, religion and sect, or similar consid-
erations.” However, some clauses in the Turkish
Penal Code violate the principle of equality and
some de factosituations discriminate against women
as well.
Felonious acts that violate sexual freedom are
described in “Felonies against Public Decency and
Family Order,” and are considered violations of
public decency and family order. But there is no
word for rape in the Turkish language. Instead, the
act is described as behavior that “dishonor(s) or
ravish(es) someone’s honor or attack(s) someone’s
chastity.” In other words, rape dishonors public
decency and family honor. Males can be raped, but
it is normally assumed that a rape victim is a female
whose body is the property of her family, her hus-
band, or the public. Thus, there is an article in the
Penal Code (article 423) concerning the taking of a
girl’s virginity: “Whoever deprives a girl of 15 of
her virginity by promising marriage shall be impris-
oned for six months to two years.” If victim and
perpetrator marry, prosecution and punishment is
suspended. However, if the wife sues for divorce
within five years, public prosecution is revived or
the punishment previously adjudged is executed.
turkey 409The age of consent is 15 in Turkey. “Whoever
ravishes a child under the age of 15 (the age of con-
sent) shall be punished by imprisonment for not
less than five years.” Further, “when the offence is
committed with force, violence, or threats or is
committed against an child who cannot resist
because of mental or physical defects...imprison-
ment shall not be less than ten years.” Thus, all sex-
ual intercourse with a person under 15 years of age
is considered rape, regardless of the victim’s sex.
A new Penal Code is now being debated between
women’s groups and the Commission of Justice.
Article 429 of the Turkish Penal Code defines the
penalty for abduction: “Whoever abducts a woman
who has reached majority legally or by judicial
decree and uses force, violence, threats or fraud,
influenced by lascivious feelings or with the intent
of marriage, shall be punished by imprisonment for
three to ten years... If the abducted person is a
married woman, imprisonment may not be less
than seven years.” Legislation accords more impor-
tance and respect to married women than unmar-
ried women. The Penal Code (Article 434) states
that “if the abducted girl or woman marries the
accused, prosecution and/or punishment shall be
suspended.” If the couple divorces, the prosecution
can be renewed and a previously rendered punish-
ment can be executed. Thus the victim is forced to
marry her abductor to protect her family honor.
Adultery was a crime according to Articles 440
and 441 of the Penal Code but as a result of a cam-
paign by women’s non-governmental organizations,
the Turkish Constitutions Court decriminalized
male adultery as in 1996 and female adultery in- Adultery is no longer a crime and can only be
a ground for divorce (Civil Code, Article 161).
Homicide is a serious crime. In the case of a
“malicious murder of a newborn child to protect
the dignity and reputation of the offender or of his
wife, mother, daughter, grandchild, adopted
daughter or sister, the offender shall be punished by
imprisonment for five to ten years” (Penal Code,
Article 453.e). Formerly, the murder of a family
member was punished by death. In accord with
European Union laws, capital punishment has been
abolished, and the murder of a family member is
now punished by life imprisonment.
In principle abortion is no longer a felony, but
under certain circumstances it is punishable. The last
of three articles in a chapter on “Felonies Regul-
ating Lineage” in the Penal Code states: “Whoever
commits one of the offences in the foregoing arti-
cles to protect the reputation of himself, his wife,
mother, sister, descendant or adopted daughter,
shall be imprisoned for one month to three years.”