Official figures by the Directorate General of Land and Cadastre points to the obvious in Turkey; that is to say, male ownership of properties is higher than that of female ownership. Sixty-three percent of men are holders of title deeds to more than 57 million plots of land, including business places and independent housing units, compared to just 37 percent of female title deed holders. The figures are the reflection of a male-dominated, patriarchal mindset where women's right to ownership is limited and the majority of property families own are traditionally left as inheritance to male members of families.
Women in the small cities of Bayburt, Burdur and Çankırı are luckier than their peers in other places as it was only in those cities that female property ownership rose to about 43 percent, still lower than men.
Nevertheless, the eastern cities top the list of places where number of men as title deed holders are overwhelmingly higher than women. In the southeastern city of Hakkari, some 86 percent of title deeds are in the name of men. Although women have equal rights to ownership of title deeds left as inheritance, predominant customs force them to hand over them to their male relatives. The male population in Turkey, where more than 80 million people live, is higher than that of women and women strive to achieve gender equality, especially in terms of employment and representation in politics.
