 Governor of Izmir Oğuz Kağan Köksal expressed his views on the UNJP to Local Facilitator Semra Ulusoy:
It would be beneficial to the entire society to respond to the demands of women and girls, who make up half of our society, and raise their living standards. Works carried out under the UNJP will accelerate our pace in reaching this goal. Furthermore, the UNJP was the first of its kind in bringing together all stakeholders by creating a network (local authorities, governorships, private sector, women's organizations, and non-govermental organisations) in protecting and promoting human rights of women and girls. All stakeholders put forth their joint efforts to raise the quality of life of our women and girls, and all the citizens of İzmir.
The Joint Programme, for the first time, brings together govenorships, municipalities, private sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for collaborative work. Such a collaboration is the first of its kind and is very important. I believe it should be sustained. It will serve as an example, not only for future work, but also for the work that is already underway. Everybody can and must sit around a table where problems are tackled and solutions are discussed. This will also help strengthening the NGOs, which we see as an integral part of our society. As the Governor’s Office, it is our wish that our cooperation will continue for İzmir to earn the title, "Women-friendly City."
We ensure that women’s rights is a topic of utmost importance for us. We are doing our best to recruit as many women as possible within the local decision mechanisms. To ensure that women and girls have a better life, we believe that they should have a priority in accessing social services. We will strive for this purpose. We want to achieve our goals in preventing violence against women, as well as providing and securing education to girls.
However, the number of women in local decision mechanisms are unfortunately very small. It is of utmost importance that women participate in such mechanisms and voice their demands. For example, the sessions of local government assemblies such as the Provincial General Assembly and the Municipal Assembly are public, it is very easy to participate in these sessions. It is certain that women's participation in large numbers in the local governments will help in alleviating inequality. I believe that significant improvement will be achieved with this programme.
Women, who make up half of the number of people whom we provide services to, must have more of a say in the provision of services. This programme will make a significant contribution in this field as well.
In order to promote the rights of women and girls further, there should be more women in the National Assembly, Municipality and Provincial Assemblies. However there are very few women in the Municipal Assemblies and the Provincial General Assembly in our province. This number should increase.
Furthermore, education must be provided to girls, and their rights to education must be secured. It is necessary that women and children benefit equally from health and social services, and more women should participate in the work force. Cities should become places of good life for women, and they should be supported for further participation in social life. For this, our local governments will continue with their efforts.
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