Are 10 Disabled People Enough For Istanbul’s Municipal Council?

Recent municipal elections don’t seem to alleviate the low political representation issue of Istanbul’s people with disabilities - a population challenging with even going out of their houses due to architectural obstacles in a city with 14 million dwellers. There are only 10 disabled members at municipality councils across all provinces. Only one of them is in the metropolitan city council.

According to March 30 local election results, Justice and Development Party (AKP) has four*, Republic People’s Party has six, Nationalist Movement Party and Peace and Democracy Party has no disabled members at municipality councils.

Lokman Ayva, one of the founders of AKP and protestant of AKP’s policies, resigned from his party’s central administration board due to the underrepresentation of the disabled.

bianet interviewed Disabled Woman’s Foundation Executive Board Member Özlem Kara, Social Rights and Researches Foundation President Süleyman Akbulut and Life Without Borders Foundation President Adem Kuyumcu on the topic. In a way, they agreed that the best solution can come by people who live through it directly, stating that the problems that are not solved means they will continue to exist.

Ayva: Organ nationalism

Former AKP congressman Lokman Ayva stated: “2 of 74 founding members were disabled. In 2004 there were 15, in 2009 there were 13 disabled members of municipality councils in Istanbul. However, the number is dropped to 4 in 2014.” 

“Footsteps of regional and religional nationalism as well as organ nationalism can be heard. I regret to inform you that the golden age of the disabled which started in 2001 has finished in 2014. The disabled, who were getting involved in decision process, will have to make do with the leftovers of those before.

They cannot even use their right to vote

Özlem Kara (Disabled Woman’s Foundation Executive Board Member Imagine, if the disabled cannot use their right to vote, we cannot even talk about representation. The best solution can come by people who live through it directly. Representation is also one of the most important tools for the visibility of groups with differences.This means that, whatever problem we face in the cities will not be solved until next election. Because no matter how many legal regulation comes up, it cannot work without mentality change. It is even more difficult for disabled women. Because they have double the disadvantages. So, it is difficult for a disabled to go out but it is twice the difficulty for a disabled woman to feel safe.  

Who is to ask when sidewalks are built?

Süleyman Akbulut (Social Rights and Researches Foundation President): First of all, finding place in politics for the disabled is the primary need for the principle of equality. Because the absence of the disabled in politics is in fact the reason for their unsolved problems. At political debates, the names of the disabled are seen at the far below levels of the list, as if it is a favor. A disabled congressman’s resign such as Lokman Ayva points out how terrible the situation is. The social and economic participation of the city is possible at local administration. The municipality provides every service from going to school/work and coming back home. When municipality builds sidewalks and if there is no disabled, the municipality will do as it sees fit. It is strategically dramatic that the disabled have no political representation.

They are still in prison due to not being in administration

Adem Kuyumcu (Life Without Borders Foundation President): Municipalities has left millions of disabled people and their families imprisoned at their homes by not providing necessary regulations regarding architectural accessibility despite the law that came out 8 years ago. If there were disabled people in administration, this prison life would be less None of the parties act sensitive about this subject, therefore making the disabled outcasts. We do not take Mr. Ayva’s attitude too seriously.  Because until today, he was never present in our protests about removing the obstacles. (NV/BAR/BM)

* AKP Istanbul Regional Administration stated that they had 7 candidates in their “disabled quota” including relatives of people with disabilities.

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.