by december 2016, "the new york times" headlined the situation in turkish kurdistan as "crackdown in turkey threatens a haven of gender equality built by kurds". vahap coskun, law professor in diyarbakir university and a critic of the pkk, concedes that the "apoist" kurdish parties’ promotion of women has had an impact all over turkey: "it also influenced other political parties to declare more women candidates, in western turkey too. it has also increased the visibility of women in social life as well as the influence of women in political life," with female political candidates increasing significantly even in the ruling islamist akp party.