Trigger Warning: Femicide, Sexual Assault
Women in Türkiye have begun to take to the streets following the recent murders of İkbal Uzuner and Ayşenur Halil. The lives of the two 19-year-old University students were cut short by Semih Çelik, a fellow 19-year-old student who had previously dated Uzuner and was currently in a relationship with Halil.
On the afternoon of October 4th, Çelik first killed Halil by slitting her throat at her home, then proceeded to call Uzuner to the location where he killed and dismembered her too. After throwing her head off the city walls to the ground below where her mother was standing, Çelik jumped from the walls in an attempt to take his own life and died from his injuries in hospital.
Despite how farfetched the case may sound, such extreme levels of violence against women have become a reality for a rapidly growing number of women in the country.
In fact, Türkiye has “one of the highest femicide rates”.
Between 2013 and 2021, 3035 women were confirmed to have been killed in an act of femicide, with thousands more listed as suspicious deaths which are likely to fall under the same category. Over recent years, this figure has only risen, with the most recent data confirming 34 femicides (with a further 20 suspicious deaths) in September 2024 alone, according to NGO and platform We Will Stop Femicide (WWSF).
The platform itself was founded in 2010 following a public outcry after the murder the previous year of yet another woman who fell victim to the hands of gender violence; Münevver Karabulut.
Karabulut was a 17-year-old student at the time she was killed by her partner Cem Garipoğlu, who proceeded to dismember her body and flee for 6 months after her head was found in a rubbish bin. After Istanbul’s police chief at the time stated that her murder could’ve been prevented by her family “if they took care of their daughter”, Karabulut’s family joined forces with the founder of WWSF to raise awareness for Karabulut throughout the trial and continue to do the same for other women who lose their lives to femicide.
Violence against women in Türkiye extends further beyond the confirmed cases of femicide. By broadening the scope of gender-based violence cases to include those of harassment and assault, a picture far more terrifying begins to take form and the list of victims grows drastically.
One recent case which sparked outrage across the country was that of the sexual assault of a 25-year-old woman in Istanbul on September 24th. The woman was brutally attacked by 31-year-old Semir Tarhan and 27-year-old Ömer Konu at around 4 am. The assault took place in front of bystanders who then rushed to her help. However, the two men – quickly found and questioned – were released shortly after giving their statements to the police.
It was not until footage of the incident went viral on social media, causing backlash at the lack of arrests, that the department then issued new arrest warrants.
Another issue faced by women in Türkiye is the killing of women by their family members as a result of bringing ‘shame’ to the family or their name. Although ‘Honour killings’ are not as common as they once were, they still play a role in the alarming rates of violence against women. One case which remains notable to this day is the killing of Hatun Sürücü.
Sürücü was a 23-year-old Kurdish woman residing with her family in Germany, when her youngest brother – Ayhan - killed her at a bus stop in 2005. Ayhan fired three bullets into her due to his dislike of her ‘Western lifestyle’. Although her two other brothers – Mutlu and Alparslan – have publicly approved of Sürücü’s murder, the two were able to flee to Türkiye and in 2016 were acquitted of being involved in the killing by an Istanbul court due to a lack of evidence despite a German court acquittal being previously overturned.
More than 1,000 honour killings took place in Türkiye between 2003 and 2008.
Despite violence against women being rampant within the country, Türkiye’s government has been consistent in their response, or lack thereof – turning a blind eye to the growing problem faced by society. In reality, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his party (Justice and Development Party, referred to as AKP) have caused nothing less than a hindrance in the fight for equality and the safety of women.
2021 was a historic year for women’s rights in Türkiye – and not for a good reason. On July 1st, Erdoğan made the choice to leave the Istanbul Convention – a crucial piece of human rights legislation protecting women from gender-based violence – on the premise of it “threatening family values” and “normalising homosexuality”.
Amnesty International recognised Erdoğan’s choice as a grave error, stating that he “turned his back on the gold standard for the safety of women and girls”. Secretary Agnès Callamard emphasised that “the withdrawal sends a reckless and dangerous message to perpetrators who abuse, maim and kill: that they can carry on doing so with impunity.”
Erdoğan’s refusal to reinforce safety measures for women in Türkiye comes as no surprise when dissecting the beliefs upon which he formed his political party, demonstrated through his referrals to women as inferior people in his speeches over the years.
In a 2016 speech, Erdoğan referred to career-minded women as “deficient”, stating that "a woman who refuses maternity and gives up housekeeping… is lacking and is a half [a person] no matter how successful she is in the business world.”
Two years prior, Erdoğan once again spoke on ‘the role of a woman’ being no more than a mother, stating that men and women could not be equal “because it goes against the laws of nature.” He continued, “Their characters, habits and physiques are different … You cannot place a mother breastfeeding her baby on an equal footing with men.”
Erdoğan’s views may strike you as blatant sexism with the level of understanding we have developed as a society over the years, however, his views are still reflected in various ways throughout traditional and cultural remnants still seen in the country.
When looking at recent data, it becomes clear that many challenges are faced by all women on a daily basis. Crucially, a gender pay gap of 37% often presents young women with a disadvantage when establishing financial security.
Regulations have also historically been placed on what a woman can or cannot wear in public, with many recorded protests fighting against laws such as a ban on wearing a headscarf inside state institutions (including schools). This ban was only lifted officially in 2010, despite around 60% of women in the country covering their heads at the time.
Perhaps the biggest sign of gender-based violence being normalised throughout the years can be seen through the sayings and phrases passed down through the generations. Hearing the phrases “if he loves you, he beats you” and phrase “the stick that comes from Heaven” is not uncommon for women in Türkiye, with many popular TV shows also romanticising the notion of a man showing his ‘love’ through violence. It stands as a dim reminder of how reinforced the concept of fulfilment a woman is supposed to feel after being subjected to violence truly is.
Though the very notion of equality for women is one has been historically shunned in the country, society has reached a turning point with how they respond to this.
Organisations such as WWSF can be found throughout the country, working ferociously to be the voice for the victims of gender-based violence. In 2012 they played a key role in the preparation process of Law No. 6284 - Türkiye’s law on the prevention of violence against women and children. 5 years later the platform established their ‘Don’t Mess with My Clothing’ march, protesting the frequent attacks on women who were wearing shorts and skirts and later establishing a Women’s Assembly. Today, they aim to establish over 80 assemblies in Türkiye (as well as a number in other countries such as Cyprus and Germany) to educate on and fight for the political rights of women, children and the LGBTQIA+ community.
The work being put into establishing the rights of women is being reflected in the changes we are seeing in the political landscape of Türkiye. In their 2024 popular vote, the proportion of locally elected women was close to triple what it had previously been, with 11 out of 81 cities now having a female mayor.
Women are speaking up, and making sure their voices are heard.
In response to the media ban originally imposed on the femicides of Uzuner and Halil, the public quickly took matters into their own hands to ensure the world knew about the danger Turkish women are in. The young generations worked around the media ban by taking to social media to share the news instead, along with generating the now-viral hashtag, #TurkishWomenNeedHelp.
Stories about the violence women face spread across apps such as TikTok and X, with videos from protests held in honour of Uzuner and Halil making their way to countries like the US, France, and Japan. In the meantime, University students across Türkiye wore black to their lectures in protest of Erdoğan initially staying silent on what was happening.
And it worked.
Following the outrage both online and on the streets, Erdoğan finally addressed the situation along with violence against women in Türkiye as a whole. Stating that it bothers his party “as it does everyone else, to see criminal types with dozens of cases on their criminal records, walking around freely”, he promised to reassess the country’s sentencing and early release systems.
So, what’s the next step? How can we help the women of Türkiye in their fight for safety?
Allow women to share their stories rather than contribute to the pressure being mounted on them to remain silent. Engage with the videos you may come across on your social media feeds. Check in with the women in your life, acknowledging the reality that is the fact that women around the world are at risk of becoming victims to gender-based violence.
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