The Civil Code of the Turkish Republic was passed in 1926, and comprised family law as one of its sub-fields. The new law entailed substantive improvements in the status of women (Starr 1974). Polygamy and repudiation were outlawed while women gained equal rights with men in terms of conditions and initiation of divorce. Custody rights in case of divorce were rearranged so as to bring equal rights to women. Prevailing inequalities in inheritance between male and female children were abrogated. C…