MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Mardin- The number of femicides and suspicious deaths of women continues to increase in Turkey. Women’s organizations underline that violence against women has increased after Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention. A gendercide has been carried out against women and this situation has been ignored by the government.

Mardin ranks Turkey’s third city, where more women lost their lives, says the report released by We Will Stop Femicide Platform. According to the report, 20 women lost their lives in Mardin between May 2020 and May 2021, and 18 of them were reported as suspicious deaths.

“Investigations make no process”

We spoke to Berivan Döken, a member of Mardin Şahmaran Women’s Platform, about violence against women and suspicious deaths of women in Mardin province.

“Women have faced many problems in Mardin such as the increase of domestic violence, being ignored by family and society, and the marginalization. The policies of the system also cause problems for women. In such an environment, the number of femicides and suspicious deaths of women increases because women cannot find a space to find a solution for their problems. When we look at the social structure of the city, we can see a patriarchal structure. Women’s lives have been ignored and limited. Most of the suspicious deaths of women mostly occur at home. Investigations opened into the suspicious deaths make no process or the cases are closed called suspicious,” Berivan Döken said.

“The system’s misogynist policies encourage the perpetrators”

Berivan Döken stated that the increasing number of femicides in the last period is a result of the system's misogynist policies. Violence against women become more visible during the Covid-19 pandemic, Berivan said, “Women are killed directly or indirectly by men. The protection of the masculine mentality by the system, unfortunately, legitimates femicides. The perpetrators have been encouraged by the policy of impunity and this causes the increase of femicides. The women, who cannot bear the pressure and violence and cannot get a protection order, are driven to suicide.”

“We should be insistent on working”

Berivan Döken called for a struggle against ongoing femicides and the isolation policy against women, “We should struggle against the mindset that ignores us, the misogynist policies. As women, we should empower each other everywhere. We should be insistent on working to build a future without femicides.”

Mardin ranks third in femicides

Mardin ranked third in femicides, says the report of the We Will Stop Femicide Paltform. Some names of women who are claimed to commit suicide are as follows;

Zehra Yalçın (55): She suspiciously lost her life in the Nusaybin district of Mardin province on May 31. After her death, it was learned that she was a victim of child marriage after being abducted by a man and that she was subjected to violence by her husband for years.

Sebahat Oral: She lost her life in the Kızıltepe district of Mardin on June 1; her death was reported as a suspicious death.

Şenaz Ürün (19): She died suspiciously in Mardin’s Midyat district on June 6.

Sare Gök (21): She died in the Hanlar( Xanika) neighborhood of Mardin’s Midyat district on June 21 when she was grazing sheep. Her death has been classified as a suspicious death.

Saliha Adsoy (44): She was found dead in a water well on June 27 in the Konaklı( Xirbêkeblo) neighborhood of Mardin’s Artuklu district.

Berfin Alça: she died in the Kızıltepe district of Mardin on July 28. Her death has been classified as a suspicious death.

Fadile Asan: She died in Kızıltepe on August 15. Her death has been classified as a suspicious death.

Kanite Eraslan (20): She died in Mardin’s Midyat district on August 26. Her death has been classified as a suspicious death.

Kübra Ergül (20): Her dead body was found in her house in the Pir Abbas neighborhood of Mardin’s Derik district.