New cabinet with only one Woman Minister draws criticism

Only one woman appears on the new Cabinet list announced today by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, disappointing and drawing fire from women's organizations. In the new Cabinet, Fatma Sahin, a deputy from the southeastern province of Gaziantep and the sole woman on the 26-member Cabinet, was named family and social policies minister. The previous Cabinet included two female members, which raised hopes among some for even more women on the new Cabinet. "This (new Cabinet) is something we really didn't expect," said Cigdem Aydin, head of the Association for the Support and Training of Women Candidates (KADER), which worked unsuccessfully before last month's general elections to get women elected to half the seats in Parliament. "Prime Minister Erdogan said this term would be his master stroke, but the Cabinet doesn't reflect this. We were expecting at least six female ministers." She added, "Unfortunately women's representation is quite low and they are just appointed to certain positions. Women are given either the Education Ministry or Family Ministry."