Read on Twitter
Absolute anger & upset in Turkey after the murder of Emine Bulut by her ex-husband in front of her 10-year-old on Aug 18. The killing sparked outrage after a video showed the mum saying: "I don't want to die" while her child says, "Mum, please don't die." https://news.yahoo.com/mum-dont-die-murder-turkish-woman-ignites-anger-191547594.html
I follow women's rights issues here very closely in Turkey & for context after Bulut's murder on how gender inequality permeates Turkish society, I recommend taking a look at my thread here https://twitter.com/RazAkkoc/status/1104002708279906304 & I wrote about femicides in 2017 here https://news.yahoo.com/turkeys-deepening-tragedy-murdered-women-034127603.html
Another case which angered Turkey was that of Sule Cet. Two men are accused of killing the 23-year-old whose body was found after falling from the 20th floor of a building in Ankara. Dozens rallied outside the court on July 10 in support of Cet. More info: https://www.equaltimes.org/spip.php?action=converser&redirect=could-the-sule-cet-murder-rape?lang=en&var_lang=fr
Initially officers thought Cet committed suicide in May 2018 but there was a strong push against this. Later, the case opened against the two men suspected of raping and killing Cet. Previous hearings have unnecessarily speculated on Cet’s private life & whether she was a virgin.
One more case this time of Nevin Yildirim, a woman who killed her rapist. She was sentenced to life for his death despite her lawyers arguing it was self-defence against her systematic sexual assault. In May 2019, a top court upheld her life sentence. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/sep/09/reape-abortion-fight-womens-rights-turkey
Her defenders which include many women’s rights groups pointed to how men who kill women can get reduced sentences for “good behaviour” or claiming they were provoked in court cases yet Yildirim was not afforded any leniency for what had happened to her.
"Must there be an image of the violence to draw attention to women's murders?” says Esra Kotan, the sister of Merve, a 19yo killed by her 27yo ex-partner 3 days before #EmineBulut. Merve was murdered after she said she wanted to split up from her partner. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/ablanin-tepkisi-ama-diyen-herkes-cinayeti-mesrulastiriyor-41315146
Merve's last words before she was shot were: "Don't, please don't," her family say, who have launched a http://change.org petition titled "Justice for Merve Kotan". Over 12,500 signatures so far as part of a bid to ensure Merve is not forgotten. https://www.change.org/p/adalet-bakanl%C4%B1%C4%9F%C4%B1-merve-kotan-i%C3%A7in-adalet
This series by @bbcturkce on violence against women in Turkey is worth a watch. V upsetting, so trigger warning for all.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3: (came out after the outrage over Emine Bulut's murder)
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3: (came out after the outrage over Emine Bulut's murder)
A journalist just now asked Erdogan about parliament reopening & what will be done re violence against women. This is the wrong Q. Turkey is a country with the right laws after ratifying the Istanbul convention. The issue is not what's on the statute but what's put into practice.
The question to ask of authorities -- and this wouldn't just be one in Turkey -- is how to change the culture towards women and to accept that gender inequality contributes to the existence of VAW. It's no good just condemning violence. That's too easy.
Erdogan again said what he had told Turkish journalists earlier this week that if parliament brings the death penalty to the floor and passes a law, he would approve it. "I will approve this. Without thinking twice, I would do so," he told reporters in Ankara.
An example of the problem: a man murders his pregnant wife and gets only 18 years in jail despite killing two. He got reductions for “good behaviour” and “unjust provocation”. A reminder, Nevin Yildirim got life for murdering her rapist whose baby she was forced to have.
“I don’t want to be found dead somewhere or for acid to be thrown at me,” she said, adding that she was not receiving personal protection. “What is important to me is that the state protects me while I am alive.” Via @Reuters on rising femicides in Turkey https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-women/turkey-under-pressure-to-tackle-sharp-rise-in-murders-of-women-idUSKBN1X01DV
“When you look at the excuses, they were killed because they wanted to make decisions about their own lives - to divorce, to work, to wear what they choose,” Fidan Ataselim, general secretary of a platform set up to halt the killing of women, told the news agency.
A new report from the CHP finds that 44.3% of Turkish women have a bank account, the lowest rate among OECD, G20 and EU countries while 42% of women are exposed to gender-based violence throughout their lifetime, the highest rate in the OECD countries. http://bianet.org/english/women/215738-chp-report-half-of-women-in-turkey-don-t-have-a-bank-account
One of the suspects in the Sule Cet case was jailed for life for her murder, sexual assault while another was given over 18 years for helping. A victory in the case where there was dangerous speculation over Sule which had no relevance to the murder. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/two-men-sentenced-to-jail-in-high-profile-femicide-149442
Another case dominating headlines today is that of the murder of Ceren Ozdemir, a 20-year-old student. She was stabbed to death on her way home from a ballet class, according to Turkish media. Her killer is yet unknown after the assailant fled the scene. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ballerina-another-woman-murdered-in-turkey-149437
Turkey's women lawmakers stage Las Tesis 'rapist is you' protest. The same protest that has previously seen women told to disperse & some rights activists detained but this weekend was different as the quoted tweet mentions https://www.dw.com/en/turkeys-women-lawmakers-stage-las-tesis-rapist-is-you-protest/a-51684425 https://twitter.com/Istanbultelaviv/status/1206257131885907968
"A possible decrease in the rate of complaints that could reach relevant authorities is more likely than an actual decline in violence or a possible decline that has occurred organically and by itself."
Monitoring Male Violence in the Time of Corona http://bianet.org/english/male-violence/225252-monitoring-male-violence-in-the-time-of-corona
Monitoring Male Violence in the Time of Corona http://bianet.org/english/male-violence/225252-monitoring-male-violence-in-the-time-of-corona
In this thread, I referred to Merve Kotan whose male killer was given aggravated life sentence by a court in Aydin on Thursday for her murder. No sentence reduction. http://bianet.org/english/male-violence/225973-defendant-given-aggravated-life-sentence-for-killing-merve-kotan
