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Episode details

World Service,13 Aug 2020,9 mins

Scoring a victory for women's rights in Turkey

Witness History

Available for over a year

In 2004 feminist campaigners in Turkey forced a radical change in the law on crimes against women. The overhaul of the country's 80-year-old penal code meant a redefinition of crimes such as rape and sexual assault; references to chastity, honour and virginity were also removed from the legislation. It was a major victory for a group of women who had been pressing for reform for years and was also one of the conditions for Turkey's accession talks with the European Union. Mike Lanchin has been speaking to Pinar Ilkkaracan, who led the successful campaign for legal change. (PHOTO: TARIK TINAZAY/AFP via Getty Images)

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