Most of the suspicious deaths of women in Urfa are refugee women. Women are forced into prostitution and unwanted marriage because they face economic difficulties in the city, says lawyer Mihriban Çelik, a member of Urfa Libertarian Lawyers Association (ÖHD).

MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Rıha – The cases of femicide has been at alarming levels in Turkey in the last 19 years. As the men, who killed women, have been awarded impunity, the women, who defended themselves to protect their lives, have been jailed. After Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention by a Presidential decree, women worry that violence, femicides, and attacks against women will increase further. Even if the withdrawal decision sparks anger in society, the government hasn’t taken a positive step until now. Urfa is one of Turkey’s cities, where women are killed.

Most of the killed women are refugee women

The recent increase number of suspicious deaths of women in the city has raised concerns of NGOs and women. Several days ago, the dead body of a woman was found on the roadside of Urfa. She was burned. There is no clear data regarding the femicides in the city. Most of the killed women are refugee women. Thousands of Syrian people came to Urfa when a civil war broke out in Syria on March 15, 2011. We talked to the lawyer Mihriban Çelik, a member of Urfa Libertarian Lawyers Association (ÖHD), about the increasing cases of femicide in Urfa.

“Men kill women and make it looks like an accident”

Mihriban Çelik told us that they do not have reliable data about the suspicious deaths of women in the city in the last years and that they learn the deaths through the applications of the families or on social media platforms.  “These suspicious deaths take place in homes are considered as domestic issues, no effective investigation has been carried out because families and people keep silent. We have no information about the cases of femicides because men kill women and then make the deaths look like an accident,” Çelik said suspicious deaths of women occur due to traditions or pressures by families.

“Women kill themselves due to physical and psychological violence”

“Femicide is defined as the killing of women by men, sometimes directed by families. Women committing suicide due to the death threat and pressure they face from their families are also victims of femicide,” Çelik said, “The reasons for suicide cases, recorded as suspicious deaths, are the psychological and physical violence that women suffer because they refuse their roles in society.”

“Suspicious death and suicide rate is higher among refugee women”

Most of the suspicious deaths of women in Urfa are refugee women, said Çelik adding that refugee women have faced more physical and psychological difficulties. “Women are driven to attempt suicide due to economic and psychological problems they face in the city,” Çelik told us, “These women have been excluded from the society. They are unable to find a job because they are labeled as thieves and unreliable. They are subjected to maltreatment Most of the refugee women are forced into prostitution by men. Due to financial difficulties, their families force them into marriage as second wives or to marry elderly people in order to find a shelter for them.”

Women need support

“In order to prevent these deaths, first of all, all financial means should be provided for these refugee women. Jobs and opportunities should be provided for them.”