Ankara - Members of the Kadın Savunması (Women’s Defense), a women’s organization in Turkey, protested Turkey’s withdrawal from the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, also known as the “Istanbul Convention”. The women gathering at the Ankara’s Tunalı Hilmi Avenue unfurled a banner reading “We stop life” and blocked the traffic.

Buse Üçer, one of the members of the organization, said, “We stop the life against the AKP government, which wants to withdraw Turkey from the Istanbul Convention. The traffic will not flow; we stop the life to protect our lives. This convention belongs to Aleyna Çakır (femicide victim in Turkey); this convention belongs to murdered Nadiran. The AKP government cannot freely withdraw from this convention. We don’t withdraw from Istanbul Convention; we don’t accept one man’s decision. As women, we will continue to enforce this convention.”

Statement from female lawyers

Liberal Contemporary Lawyers Group female members made a statement in front of the Sıhhiye Courthouse in Ankara and distributed brochures reading, “We don’t give up on the Istanbul Convention” to protest Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention.

“Istanbul Convention belongs to us, to you, to everyone. We will not sacrifice this convention to you,” female lawyers said in the statement.  Lawyer İlke Işık, the head of the Ankara Bar Association, made a speech and she said, “We want to protect our lives and rights. Every day, women are killed in this country; violence against women continues to increase every day. We don’t give up on the Istanbul Convention. While we need more effective mechanisms to protect women, withdrawal from this convention means that women can be killed and children can be sexually abused in this country. But we will not allow this.”