MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

News Center -Kader, Esma, Fatma, Özgecan, Gülistan, Muazzez, Gizem, Semiha, Türkan, Menekşe, Neslihan, Meltem, Çiğdem, Şeyda, Gülizar, Yıldız, Melek, Ayşe, Zeynep, Filiz, Medine, Halime, Oya, Rahime, Necla, Gülten, Şerife, Hasibe, Elif, Leyla, Fahriye, Hülya, Arzu, Aysel, Esra, Pippa, Melike… These are several names of women killed by men in Turkey. It is impossible to write the names of women, who were killed by men. Men killed thousands of women since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002.

Thousands of women killed in 18 years

6. 759 women were killed by men in Turkey in the last 18 years, says the “Report On Women's Rights Violations” report released on March 8, 2021. Jinnews reported that 27 women were killed in March. No report has been prepared about how many women were killed in April yet. With the figures in March, the number of women killed in Turkey is 6, 759 in the last 18 years. In other words, not tens, not hundreds, but thousands of women were killed. And if no urgent actions are taken, the number of killed women will increase. In Turkey, women have always taken to the streets for 18 years and they have always called on the ruling party to stop attacks against women. But their calls and shouts have been never heard or they have been ignored. Every day, women are attacked and killed in the streets, their homes, workplaces, neighborhoods or cafés by men closest to them.

The treaty preventing femicides abolished

Turkey signed the Istanbul Convention and it created hope in the country but Turkey withdrew from the convention by a presidential decree. Especially after Turkey’s withdrawal from the convention, the attacks against women have increased. Before the withdrawn, many women’s organizations affiliated with municipalities in Kurdish cities such as Diyarbakır, Mardin, Batman and Şırnak were closed down after the appointment of unelected mayors to the municipalities. Those women’s organizations provided all kinds of support to women and took them under protection when necessary. The women counseling centers in the region began to change many things in the cities, however, those changes were turned down after the closure of those organizations. Women’s organizations have been still closed down, and their members have been detained or arrested. And these practices show misogyny in the country. In our three-part article file, we will search for an answer to the questions, “What did women face in 18 years? What kind of pressures did they face? How did discourses and policies towards women affect society? How did women struggle against misogynistic approaches? In the first article, we spoke to lawyer Diren Elif Vurgun, executive board member of the Diyarbakır Bar Association’s Women’s Rights Center.

“Policies encourage men”

Diren Elif Vurgun told us that gender inequality, norms that fuel violence, policies that increase inequality, and many other reasons cause violence against women. She argues that the struggle against violence should be waged on the basis of equality. Diren Elif Vurgun reported to us that 284 women were killed last year and the deaths of 255 women were recorded as suspicious deaths. Stating that these increasing numbers are related to the misogynist policies and discourses of the government, Diren Elif Vurgun said that Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention shows the hate against women. 

“We struggled for the Istanbul Convention to be signed by the government and then to be implemented but Turkey withdrew from it one night by a presidential decree. This decree is an unlawful decree and has no effect on laws. As bar associations, we applied legal mechanisms against the decree. On the day the decree was announced, harassment, rape, and violence against women were legitimized by the state and the men were encouraged. The government’s policies legitimizing violence against women encourage men to inflict violence against women. As women, we never give up and we struggle against violence and discrimination.”

“Women’s organizations were closed down”

Lawyer Diren Elif Vurgun mentioned that the increasing violence against women in the region is also related to the closure of women’s organizations. She pointed out that tens of women’s organizations were made nonfunctional or closed down after the appointment of unelected mayors by the government. There are few women’s organizations to be applied by women facing violence, Diren Elif Vurgun said;

“In Diyarbakır, several organizations such as IHD (Human Rights Association), KAMER (Women’s Center Foundation), Rosa Women’s Association, and Diyarbakır Bar Association have received applications of women facing violence.  In addition to the attacks on women’s achievements, we also observe the intimidation policies against members of Rosa Women’s Association. We observe that those who want to criminalize the Kurdish women’s movement. We will continue to stand against violence without taking a step back against these policies.”

“Suspicious deaths are recorded as suicide”

Diren Elif Vurgun drew attention to the increase of suspicious deaths of women during the Covid-19 pandemic and she said that no effective investigations have been carried out about the suspicious deaths. Women have been left to their fate with the announcement of lockdowns, she said;

“Women’s organizations haven’t been able to receive applications and we have no data on suspicious deaths of women. No effective investigations have been carried out in these cases. The suspicious deaths have been recorded as deaths by suicide and cases have been closed. When women have been killed by their family members, their deaths have been recorded as deaths by suicide. Their killers are their family members so no one follows their cases. We cannot take the procuration to follow the cases. When we apply to the courts to attend the trials, we are rejected by the courts.”

“A prompt and effective investigation must be carried out”

“In order to prevent femicides, suspicious deaths of women and suicides, women need to be in a safe place and solidarity,” said Diren Elif Vurgun and called on the state to fulfill its responsibility.

“Regulations in education, media, and laws are needed. Police officers and all people working in the judicial organs should be trained to carry out an effective investigation into femicides. NGOs should focus on this issue against suspicious women deaths and suicides.”

 

TOMORROW: Women in Mardin, Batman, Siirt, and Urfa: Patriarchal order feeds inequality