The views of the head of the “religious affairs department” on the position of women in modern society continue to cause reactions in the Turkish Cypriot community.
The women's organization of the Republican Turkish Party (RTK) condemned Ahmet Unsal's statements in a written statement released on Wednesday.
“The recent comments of Ahmet Unsal, who was appointed head of the ;religious cases from Turkey, against women have disturbed us as Turkish Cypriots who have adopted democracy as a way of life”, they report.
“As women of RTK who have been fighting for years to ensure gender equality in our country, strengthen democracy and establish a life worthy of basic human rights, we see the words of Mr. Unsall as one of the most obvious examples of the intolerant and patriarchal culture that is trying to be exported to our country,” it added.
Then the women of RTK also state that “we want it to be known that those who destroyed the most basic human rights and turned Turkey into a country known for femicide and child abuse have no right to tell women of Cyprus how to live, how many children to have, how to organize marital and family relationships or whether they should participate in professional life”.
On the same issue, the general secretary of RTK, Asim Akansoy, in a written statement stated that “it is not the position of Ahmet Unsal, just as it is not the position of any man, to judge and express an opinion on the commercialization of women, about how to dress and how to behave! In fact, what is expected is that he resigns from his position as soon as possible. However, we do not expect such behavior from someone with such outdated views.”
Meanwhile, in a parallel development, the general secretary of the T/C teachers union of Cyprus (KTÖS), Burak Mavis informed the public about the sending of young children to religious boarding schools of the occupied.
According to the Turkish trade unionist, associations belonging to Turkish sects organize religious discussions in mosques and homes and direct young children to Koran lessons during the summer months. Also, Mr. Mavis referred to “religious schools” that operate unchecked in the occupied territories.
“Just as we do not accept the political and economic exploitation of children before they reach adulthood, we also do not accept that a child who has not completed his first cycle of education, to be directed to religious education,” noted Mr. Mavis. He also added that “on July 4, they requested information from the Ministry of Education regarding the Koran classes organized in the summer months under Article 5 of the Right to Information Law, but despite the fact that the law states that “the administration shall provide access to the information or documents requested upon request within fifteen working days of the date of receipt of the request”, no information was provided on the matters requested”.
Mr Mavis also condemned the statements of Mr. Unsal.
It is noted that Mr. Unsal's statements have also caused strong reactions on social media, with many T/c condemning the regressive views on the position of Cyprus in modern society.  ?
