The İstanbul Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Assembly and Women’s Rights Center have expressed concern over conditions for women in Turkish prisons, citing overcrowding, poor hygiene and a lack of support for pregnant inmates.
According to the Bold Medya news website, the concerns were shared during a panel discussion focusing on female inmates’ rights, prison conditions and systemic violations, with lawyers presenting observations from recent visits.
Attorney İlayda Gedik Saysal told the audience that prisons in Turkey are not built with women in mind and described the problems as persistent and systemic.
“Even where the name says ‘women’s prison,’ facilities are not set up to meet women’s basic needs,” she said.
She described limited access to hygiene and health products. Women without money receive only 10 sanitary pads per month, vitamins are rarely provided despite common B12 deficiency and even drinking water must be purchased inside.
Saysal added that there are no tailored arrangements for pregnant women or children born in custody. She said pregnant women should receive nutrition-appropriate meals and medical monitoring, and added that women who give birth in custody should have access to child-friendly spaces and early-childhood facilities. Foreign inmates, she noted, face higher phone call costs and often cannot receive clothing parcels, putting them under extra strain.
Saysal pointed to overcrowding as a central issue. Some wards built for 40 inmates hold about 60, which leaves many women sleeping on the floor.
“This violates human dignity,” she said.
Attorney Lütfiye Nalan Ermiş from the Young Lawyers Assembly said prisons remain out of sight and that problems grow with little public attention.
Rights groups have repeatedly reported overcrowding, inadequate medical care and limited access to sanitary products across Turkey’s prison system. Following a coup attempt in 2016, tens of thousands were detained or imprisoned on terrorism-related charges, creating sustained pressure on capacity.
Turkey’s prison population has reached 428,267, exceeding official capacity by 40 percent, according to a recent report of the Civil Society in the Penal System (CISST). The country’s 402 prisons have a capacity of 304,886.
