Turkey: hundreds of women in the streets of Istanbul to denounce domestic violence

Published on : 06/19/2021 – 7:12 PM

They were more than a thousand to demonstrate Saturday, June 19 in Istanbul, according to a count established by AFP. Coming from all over Turkey, these women were protesting against a decision by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to abandon a treaty protecting them against domestic violence.

The decree of March 20 withdrawing Turkey from this Council of Europe treaty – the 2011 Istanbul Convention, which obliges governments to pass legislation punishing domestic violence, including marital rape and female genital mutilation – had sent shock waves through the country and around the world.

“The Istanbul Convention belongs to us”, could we read on the banners carried by hundreds of women from the four corners of the country, from the province of Bursa (north-west) to that of Mardin (south-east), for this event in the Maltepe district, located on the Asian side of Istanbul.

“Our struggles and our organizations nourish our hope,” Melek Ondas, of the Women’s Council, told AFP, assuring that the demonstrators came from 70 provinces of Turkey.

A decision criticized internationally

“We believe in the strength of our organizations. Whether we reverse this decision or not, we will continue our fight by all possible means,” she added.

A new event is scheduled for 1^er July, the day of entry into force of the withdrawal from the treaty.

Decided when feminicides have continued to increase for a decade in Turkey, this withdrawal has aroused the anger of women’s rights organizations and criticism from the European Union, Washington and the Office of the High Commissioner for UN human rights.

The Turkish head of state’s decision has since provoked protests across Turkey by women who feel threatened by the abandonment of the treaty in a country where the patriarchal mentality is still predominant.

More than 300 women were killed last year in Turkey, according to the platform “We will stop feminicides”.

About 38% of women in Turkey said they had been victims of domestic violence at least once, according to data from the World Health Organization, while the rate is around 25% for Europe.

With AFP