ZEYNEP AKGÜL

Ankara- As women, we are subjected to all forms of violence at home, on the street, at school, and at work. One of the women subjected to violence is Elif Yılmaz, who was forced into marriage when she was 15 years old. In October 2014, she was stabbed 28 times by her ex-husband when she wanted a divorce.

Elif is now 35 years old and she is the eldest child in a family of four children. She had to leave school after completing her primary school education. These days, her only concern is; to enable support her 17-year-old daughter Melis to complete her education and to offer her a good life. Actually, the story of Elif started when her father forced her into a marriage when she was 15 years old. “My father used to drink alcohol and beat my mother a lot,” says Elif, who lost her mother years ago. “If my mother was with me, I wouldn't have faced any of these,” Elif describes the night like a nightmare for her, “I lived with my ex-husband’s mother and father for eight years. My daughter was born one year after my marriage. My daughter was 11 years old in the year the incident occurred. He used violence against my daughter, too. We went shopping and my daughter bought chocolate; he pulled her hair and took the chocolate from her. Violence was a part of lives. But violence increased two months before the incident.”

Elif says that she told her ex-husband’s father about the violence she faced and she asked help from him, “He told me that you should get used to this, I will kill you if something happens to my son,”

“He keeps coming home even if he received a restraining order”

“He didn’t allow me to go out. Once I was working and I went to home five minutes late, he beat me. I never loved him, but I had to maintain my marriage. On that night, we were staying at my sister’s home with my daughter. We had a house. During the divorce process, we talked about selling the house and buying a small house for both of us. He went to his hometown to tell the divorce process to his family. When he returned to Ankara, I called him and asked, “Did you talk to your family?” he told me, “Come home to talk about it”. I went home to talk to him. I stayed with my sister because he kept coming home even if he received a restraining order. Then, we started discussing it. He told me, “Let’s the child sleep, then we can talk.” My daughter didn’t want to sleep and he used violence against her. I felt bad things would happen that day. Then, he took a knife and stabbed me twice. He kept stabbing me. I managed to run away from him, but he had locked the door and I couldn’t open it. Then, I run to the bedroom. I cried, “Help me”. “

Elif says one of her neighbors heard her and went to their house to help her, “My ex-husband had left the house before our neighbor came. My neighbors called the police and they took me to a hospital. I woke up one week later at the hospital. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison. But he was released from prison within the scope of the amendments of the Law on the Execution of Sentences in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. He stayed in prison for only six years.

“I will complete my unfinished job”

Stating that her ex-husband always sent a message saying ‘I will complete my unfinished job when I am released’, Elif says that she went to the prosecutor's office and filed a criminal complaint.

Meanwhile, Elif worked harder in order to stand on her own feet. Now, she has lived in fear and wants to move to a safer place with her daughter. Elif says, “I need free lawyer support. I have to hide my identity so he cannot find me. I have to leave this city. He finds me wherever I go. He will definitely come and maybe complete his unfinished job. He will kill me.