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Civil Society Dialogue Program VI

Civil Society Dialog for Strong Women Project

Women in Local Governance E-platform

Bizde variz Derneği
Urban Services

Gender equality; in its broadest sense, means that women and men, girls and boys, have equal rights, opportunities,resources and responsibilities. However, the actual gender equality is achieved, first of all, upon understanding that we are acting in an unequal structure. Women and girls are in a more disadvantaged position in all areas of life, from family and domestic life to the street,from the workplace to decision-making and enforcement bodies, from the use of urban recreation areas to housing opportunities. Therefore,the ideal of gender equality does not imply an abstract equality, but approaches and measures that take into account that the parties are still unequal. In other words, approaching unequal parties at an equal distance only reproduces and reinforces inequality in most cases. Affirmative discrimination, for example, “urban services for women”, which is the subject of this chapter,stems from such an understanding of equality.