At least 71 women have died this year due to domestic violence in Turkey. On a single day, February 27th, seven of them were murdered by their former or current husbands. They were shot or stabbed.
“Women have changed; they want greater equality. Men cannot accept this and try to brutally suppress women’s aspirations,” commented Fidan Ataselim, the secretary-general of the WWFS (We Will Stop Feminicide) platform.
Turkey was the first country to sign and ratify the Istanbul Convention in 2011, a European treaty aimed at preventing violence against women. However, after ten years, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan withdrew from the convention, as reminded by the AP agency on Thursday.
Conservative groups argued that the treaty is inconsistent with Turkish values, undermines the traditional family model, and encourages divorce.
Erdoğan argued that men and women are not biologically equal and that a woman’s priority should be family and motherhood. He claimed that Turkey does not need the Istanbul Convention and promised to “constantly raise the bar” in preventing violence against women.
“In the past 15 years, the only year in which the number of women’'s murders decreased was the year the Istanbul Convention was adopted,” reminded WWFS. The organization demands Turkey’s accession to the convention, providing more shelters for women, and fully utilizing existing legal tools.
Every year, women’s rights activists in Turkey demonstrate on International Women’s Day on March 8th, demanding more effective protection for women and Turkey’s return to the treaty.
Turkish authorities regularly ban such gatherings for reasons of security and public order. A year ago, the Turkish prosecutor’s office demanded the dissolution of WWFS, accusing the organization of “violating morality.”
Turkey was the first country to sign and ratify the Istanbul Convention in 2011, a European treaty aimed at preventing violence against women. However, after ten years, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan withdrew from the convention, as reminded by the AP agency on Thursday.
Conservative groups argued that the treaty is inconsistent with Turkish values, undermines the traditional family model, and encourages divorce.
Erdoğan argued that men and women are not biologically equal and that a woman’s priority should be family and motherhood. He claimed that Turkey does not need the Istanbul Convention and promised to “constantly raise the bar” in preventing violence against women.
“In the past 15 years, the only year in which the number of women’'s murders decreased was the year the Istanbul Convention was adopted,” reminded WWFS. The organization demands Turkey’s accession to the convention, providing more shelters for women, and fully utilizing existing legal tools.
Every year, women’s rights activists in Turkey demonstrate on International Women’s Day on March 8th, demanding more effective protection for women and Turkey’s return to the treaty.
Turkish authorities regularly ban such gatherings for reasons of security and public order. A year ago, the Turkish prosecutor’s office demanded the dissolution of WWFS, accusing the organization of “violating morality.”
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