Turkey's Association of Physicians (TTB) declared a series of events to condemn privatization and commercialization of the health sector and precarity of health workers.
Health and Social Services Workers Union (SES), Turkey's Association of Dentists (TDB), Revolutionary Health Workers Union (Dev Sağlık İş) and İstanbul Chamber of Pharmacists (İEO) also support the action.
Minister of Health Recep Akdağ threatened the protesters with administrative and legal investigations and prosecutions. All organizations reacted to his words, saying it's a democratic right.
Protests will continue all through March.
Gender discrimination in medicine
Furthermore, on this year's March 14, we focus on the gender discrimination in health services.
"70 percent of female doctors aim at becoming first level practicians or to work in branches such as physiology or anatomy. When it's time to specialize in an area, they're advised not to take some branches but others" says Dr. Didem Gediz Gelegen.
Her research among practicing doctors for her masters thesis titled "Gender Disparity in Medicine" reveals striking information.
"While there arte no obstacles on paper, discrimination against female doctors are widespread. Issues like pregnancy or giving birth are considered as contributing to low performance" she says.
Female doctors are advised to take on branches like gynecology or pediatry. Gelegenli attributes this approach to the tendency that women's work is seen as a prolongation of her domestic duties.
She quotes a comment by a male chief of medicine: "Letting women become doctors is a waste of the national budget. They specialize at 33, enter menopause at 40 and loose balance".
Among hospitals in Turkey's capital Ankara, the percentage of female chiefs of clinics is around 30 in average. For example in Dışkapı Hospital this ratio is a mere 8 percent.
Again, in Ankara only 23 percent of female doctors have private practices in contrast to 77 percent of male doctors.
Women doctors' group to tackle the issue
The female health workers who talked to bianet confirm this disparity and complain about not being able to address their problems.
Working as a nurse at the Bakırkoy Reception Institute, Yüksel Almaz said their working conditions are demanding. Our efforts are invisible, she says.
Doctors complain from not being taken seriously because of their gender. Patients don't trust us says, Kutlu Salman, working in a public clinic in Kadıköy.
As a result, TTB established a female doctors group to address problems specific to women practitioners.
The group will work to bring women doctors together to discuss their problems and promote solutions to gender discrimination in the field. (AÖ/EÜ)
