Women of Diyrabakır react to the withdrawal from Istanbul Convention by a Presidential decree and said, “Women have to be angry, not sad, they have to resist. We do not accept this decision and give up the Istanbul Convention.”

Amed – Turkey’s withdrawal from Istanbul Convention by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sparks outrage among not only women but also some men. In Turkey, where women face all forms of violence and at least three women are killed every day, women say they will not recognize the decision. We walked around in Diyarbakır province and asked women what they think about the decision. Hatice Efe told us that the withdrawn convention is not just a convention but it is a convention of women’s right to life.

“We will never give up”

“The convention was an effort to change society.  This convention protects us. It was an achievement for us. Now, it is taken from us. It wasn’t implemented, while we were expecting a step to be taken for its implementation, Turkey withdrew from it,” Hatice Efe told us she was very angry due to Turkey’s withdrawal from Istanbul Convention.

“The state protects rapists and killers”

Zeynep Ölgen told us that women defend the Istanbul Convention because they want to live without being killed or raped. “I saw the news at midnight and couldn’t sleep until morning. I waited until morning to take to the streets, to protest,” Zeynep Ölgen said that all women should protest the decision.

“We will be angry, not sad”

“I am very angry and now women have to be angry, not sad, they have to resist. We don’t recognize this decision and we don’t give up the Istanbul Convention. The state protects rapists and killers. The state does nothing to protect women. The state withdrew from it because it advocates the LGBTQ community. The state actually declared a war on women. We are faced with a misogynous mindset and ruling power. We will struggle against this ruling party and we will win,” said Zeynep Ölgen.

“If we keep silent, the killers will appear in the streets”

Arin Zümrüt is also an angry woman and she told us, “I heard the news at midnight. I felt how a country goes back for a hundred years in a minute. We tried to contact all women’s organizations. As women, we don’t recognize this decision. If we keep silent, the killers will appear in the streets and continue to kill us. We call on all women to take to the streets to defend our rights. We will struggle against this decision to the end.”

“We don’t think to give up”

 Ayşegül Güzek said that all women will take to the streets to protest the decision, “We were not surprised by this decision, but we felt sad. We never accept this decision. We will flock to the streets to protest this decision. This convention is our right to life. Everyone should take to the streets. This convention was signed in 2011 and it was implemented for six months. During that period, there was a great decrease in femicides. The withdrawal from the convention means women have to struggle to survive. For this reason, we don’t think to give up our struggle.”