Criminalizing adultery

last updated 8 January 2015

Ankara, Turkey

Turkey’s ruling party said this week that it planned to make adultery a crime. The ruling Justice and Development Party, which has many of the same members as an Islamic party banned several years ago, said it would introduce the new law as part of a package of legal reforms ostensibly aimed at bringing Turkey’s laws in line with the E.U. In theory, the anti-adultery law would apply equally to men and women. But the Turkish high court overturned a similar law six years ago, because it was used almost exclusively to punish women. A new adultery law is not expected to help advance Turkey’s bid to join the E.U., as European diplomats have often criticized Turkey’s lack of equality for women.