The Turkish Parliament has removed a proposed restriction on women’s rights to retain their maiden names from the 9th Judicial Reform Package. The Equality for Women Platform (EŞİK), a prominent women’s rights coalition, called the decision a “historic victory” for women in Turkey, marking an end to a controversial proposal that would have reinstated the requirement for women to adopt their husband’s surname upon marriage.
The proposal, listed as Article 15 in the reform package, sought to reintroduce a clause requiring married women to adopt their husband’s surname, contravening a Constitutional Court decision in 2023. The court had annulled a provision in Turkey’s Civil Code mandating that women must take their husband’s name unless they formally requested to retain their maiden name alongside it, ruling it unconstitutional and ordering lawmakers to implement a law that respects gender equality.
“Women across Turkey have tirelessly advocated to ensure the Constitutional Court’s decision was honoured,” EŞİK stated. The group added that they had invested months of effort in resisting the reintroduction of the surname restriction, which they argued undermined hard-won rights for women in Turkey.
EŞİK is now urging the Interior Ministry to implement the Constitutional Court’s ruling by issuing a directive to civil registry offices nationwide, ensuring that women can retain their surnames in alignment with the court’s mandate. “Since January, this directive should have been in effect,” EŞİK noted, calling on the ministry to act without further delay.
This legal battle over surname rights reflects broader tensions in Turkish governance under the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) coalition, where women’s rights advocates see a trend of regressive policies. EŞİK expressed concerns that recent measures, such as Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, signal a wider rollback on gender equality and women’s legal protections.
Women’s rights activists are also mobilising against another article in the reform package, scheduled for parliamentary discussion next week, which they claim threatens further encroachments on women’s rights.
