Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's war against women

[minionofmidas]

A year later, on International Women's Day in 2011, Erdogan talked about violence against women and statistics stating that so-called honor killings had increased 14-fold in Turkey from 2002 to 2009. But that, said the premier, was only because more murders were being reported.

Because they are actually recorded as what they are and the laws against them enforced (better), that is.
No doubt Erdogan also hinted that 90% of the culprits are rural Kurds and/or members of religious minorities (Alevites, Yezidis, that sort of thing. Not talking about the handful remaining urban Greeks and Armenians.)

[minionofmidas]

Yet another example of democracy's effect on the condition of individuals.  Women were much better off under the military dictatorship in Turkey.

Isn't most of the Americas and Europe a rather significant counterexample?

I don't find the US to be an argument for democracy, rather the opposite.  In Europe, perhaps Germany and the Benelux countries.. Spain... maybe UK at stretch.  No, I'd say democracy produces terrible results just as often as salubrious ones.

If "Democracy" is to mean "winner-take-all-the-power elections", that is indeed the case in poor countries. And I don't mean your libertine social policy pet issues, but peace, security, day-to-day freedoms stuff.
Seriously. There's studies on that. Deals a la South Africa or Cambodia with huge majority thresholds fare far better.

[minionofmidas]

South Africa could not be said to be faring any better.

In terms purely of its legal institutions I think it in some ways could, but its political culture leaves, shall we say, something to be desired.

The obvious comparison point for South Africa given the history would be Zimbabwe. Sample size is a bit small, but, you know. Just saying.