28 Jul 2026. The Peoples’ Equality & Democracy Party has raised the issue of “female circumcision” in Turkey’s parliament, amid calls to strengthen protection for women and girls from a practice international rights organizations classify as a human rights violation.
Controversy over the practice of “female genital mutilation” in Turkey has reopened debate over protecting women and girls from forms of gender-based violence, after the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) submitted a parliamentary question to the Ministry of Family and Social Services.
DEM Party MP for Amed (Diyarbakır) in northern Kurdistan, Xalide Türkoğlu, submitted a parliamentary question to Turkish Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, requesting clarification on the issue of “female genital mutilation,” following a promotional video posted by a gynecologist and obstetrician in Ağrı province that included statements related to this practice.