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Elvin Işlak
The Republic of Turkey is a country that consists of people from different cultures, beliefs, religions, languages, and races. With its multicultural society, it is definite that Turkey has one of the most welcoming and accepting people all around the world. Nevertheless, there is one important issue that Turkey is experiencing: the homicide of women. Violence towards women has always been a serious topic among the society of Turkey. Undoubtedly, getting assaulted and catcalled on the streets, worrying about their safety in certain times or places has become an everyday life challenge for women. By the statistics of the Women, Peace and Security Index, Turkey ranks 114 among 167 countries when women's quality of life is taken into consideration. Turkey is experiencing one of the most horrific and unjust periods of its history in this field.
The homicide of women has increased since the beginning of the 2000s. In 2019, Turkey experienced the most femicide in the last ten years. According to the “We Will Stop Femicide Platform” 300 women got killed by men, and 171 women were found suspiciously dead in Turkey in 2020. One of the reasons for the increase in femicide in 2020 is the CoronaVirus Pandemic. As a consequence of the curfew, people had to spend most of their time at home, and it led to men starting to show more violence towards women. Of the 300 women, 181 women got killed at home. This proves the violence women had to endure in their own houses during the pandemic.
People from all around Turkey were active on Social Media, especially on Twitter, during these times. They have started petitions to raise awareness against femicide and especially to support these women. Whereas, some people’s focus was on the Istanbul Contract. Its purpose is to protect and prevent women from all kinds of violence, and at the same time, to contribute to the elimination of all kinds of discrimination against women and to promote real equality between women and men. Although Turkey signed the Istanbul Contract on May 11, 2011, it got brought up again due to various objections. Allegedly, the restraining order towards men, based on the statement of women, disrupted family structure. Therefore, some politicians offered to resign from the contract, but the public opposed the government's thinking and shamed them. This situation explains how much Turkey values women’s rights. The fact that a woman does not feel comfortable and safe around her husband is a serious problem that is not talked about enough. And some people claimed that women are disrupting the traditional family image.
During the Istanbul Contract discussions, the brutal death of Pınar Gültekin made a significant impact. Pınar Gültekin got beaten up and strangled by his ex-boyfriend. Then he burned her body in a barrel and poured concrete on it. As a result of her death, the government decided not to terminate the Istanbul Contract. Another serious crime that has occurred is Çiğdem Yaylak’s case. Çiğdem got beaten up by a man and then got raped that led her to suicide and stay 99.9% disabled. But the real disgrace of the Turkish justice system was that the man who raped her was released. Thankfully, he got arrested again, as people did not stop objecting to the decision.
All in all, it is tragic that innocent women had to die for the politicians to change their minds. Because in Turkey, whenever something happens, the woman is always the blamed one. If she gets hit, she must have deserved it. If she gets raped, it is because she provoked men. Today, various organizations and people fight for gender equality in Turkey. They only want women and men to get treated as equals, so Turkey will be a peaceful country for women to live in again. The public awaits the justice system to take femicides more seriously and take immediate legal actions. They believe that the change will happen if they can display the dire consequences of harming women.
References
“Kadın Cinayetlerini Durduracağız Platformu 2020 Raporu.” Kadın Cinayetlerini Durduracağız Platformu, 2 Jan. 2021, http://kadincinayetlerinidurduracagiz.net/veriler/2947/kadin-cinayetlerini-durduracagiz-platformu-2020-raporu
Wikipedia contributors. “Türkiye’de Kadın Cinayeti.” Wikipedia, 13 Feb. 2021, https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%BCrkiye%27de_kad%C4%B1n_cinayeti#:~:text=Kad%C4%B1n%20Cinayetlerini%20Durduraca%C4%9F%C4%B1z%20Platformu%202019,kad%C4%B1n%20%C5%9F%C3%BCpheli%20%C5%9Fekilde%20%C3%B6l%C3%BC%20bulunmu%C5%9Ftur.
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