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Violence Against Women: 10 Reports / Year 2003Although the law in Turkey provides that the consent of both the man andthe woman is required before a marriage can be concluded, the WWHRstudy in Eastern Turkey revealed that most women in that region had nochoice in who they married. About 60% of all marriages in EasternTurkey are arranged by the family, and even where the couple arrangesthe marriage on their own, it is often conditioned on obtaining the family’sconsent. 30 The study also reports that just over half of the womeninterviewed were married without their consent and just less than halfwere not consulted at all about their future spouse. This tradition ofarranged marriages appears to be changing as many young women andmothers of young women agree that a woman should be able to chooseher own spouse. 31The study also revealed that 1 in 10 women live in polygamous marriages.Because polygamy is forbidden by law in Turkey since 1926, women inpolygamous unions are subject to gross inequalities as only one womancan have a civil marriage and the rights that accompany a civil marriage.All other wives are relegated to religious marriages, which grant themfewer rights. 32Practices such as bride-price, arranged and forced marriages, andpolygamy deny women respect as independent human beings. Such practicesalso limit the power that women have to direct their own livesbecause their husband or their family controls them and there is muchsocietal pressure for women to obey their husbands and their parents.Such lack of power can make women vulnerable to violence. In such anatmosphere, it is difficult for women to find a space where they areempowered to speak out against practices that treat them as property, limittheir decision-making capacity, or otherwise restrict their ability to takeadvantage of the rights accorded to them by law in Turkey.3.3.2 Crimes against Women Committed in the Name of HonourSome of the most serious violations of human rights which specificallytarget women are crimes committed in the name of “honour.” “Honourcrimes” are particularly prevalent in, but not limited to, the Eastern andSouth-eastern regions of Turkey but they have also been reported in themajor Turkish cities, including Istanbul and Izmir and also in Turkishimmigrant communities in other countries. 33 The killing of women and350