Women in Turkey see unemployment as the biggest problem in the country.
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According to research conducted by the Center for Public Policy and Democracy Studies (PODEM) with the aim of understanding women's perception in politics, 59.8 percent of women think unemployment is the main issue of the country that needs to be addressed.
Unemployment is followed by women's issues, poverty, the economy and terrorism.
The research, named "Turkey from women's eyes: Politics, economy and public matters," has been conducted through focus group work with 84 women and face-to-face interviews with 2,832 others from 12 provinces of the country, including Istanbul, Izmir, Diyarbakır and Samsun.
The results of the research have revealed that women try to keep a distance from politics to stay away from the tense environment of the political arena while seeing politics as a notion that is outside of their day-to-day lives.
The first things that came to the minds of the participants when it comes to politics are the notions of "democracy, voting" and "tension, unrest."
While only 21.5 percent of the participants expressed that they were interested in politics, 39.5 percent made it clear that they had no interest in the subject.
Most of the ones who were interested in politics were middle-age women, while interest in politics decreases as the socioeconomic level increases.
Moreover, 39.7 percent of the participants said politics influence their lives; 37.4 percent said politics is beneficial for the society; and 37.6 percent expressed they feel outside of politics.
Only 24 percent of the women participate in political events, with the most-attended events being rallies for the political parties.
The women who have visited a political party building, however, constitute only 20 percent.
Yet, despite this low percentage, 28.1 percent of the participants said women's representation in politics is at an adequate level.
Still, 62.7 percent of the women said they agree women's participation in politics would have a positive influence over the political arena, while 70.8 percent expressed that they would support a female relative's participation in politics.
Some 58.7 percent said they would choose a female candidate over a male candidate. ■