The New Year in Turkey brought some drastically important new rights for the county's women.
On paper at least, a new civil code finally recognized men and women as equals, scrapping the old code which designated the husband as head of a family. For example, women are no longer required to seek their husbands' permission to go out to work and can legally have a say in the major decisions affecting a family's life. The legislation was approved at the end of November after much heated debate in the Turkish parliament in Ankara and it came into force at the start of the New Year. The reforms are part of the biggest overhaul of the country's civil code since the Turkish Republic was established 78 years ago. Whilst these reforms are being heralded as a landmark victory in the battle of the sexes, not surprisingly they have also stirred some controversy. Dorian Jones went to Istanbul to find out why.
