MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Amed- Women are being murdered in Turkey every day. While no measure has been taken to prevent femicides, on July 1, Turkey officially withdrew from the Istanbul Convention, a treaty protecting women. Women’s organizations and activists criticize Turkey’s withdrawal from the convention, adding that policies of impunity and time off for good behavior encourage the perpetrators. We interviewed women in the streets of Amed (Diyarbakır) about the increase of femicides in Turkey in the last 20 years. We asked them if “they feel safe in Turkey.” The answer of all women we interviewed told us, “We definitely don’t feel safe in Turkey”.

“The perpetrators are released within two days”

“I don’t feel safe in Turkey,” Hicran Açıkgöz told us, “Am I safe if a pervert man walks freely in the streets? Maybe I will face the same thing other women have already faced in the streets. We have a lot of concerns. Harassers and killers are free. Women cannot go out after a certain hour in the evening. The state releases killers and harassers. The perpetrators are arrested but they are released within two days.”

“The killers walk in the streets freely”

“Measures should be taken to prevent femicides in the country,” Sacide Kabak said, “Women should use their self-defense right to protect themselves. We are always watched. Men always look at us and our dresses whenever we go out. They harass women with their eyes. Every day, at least a woman is killed by her husband or family members in Turkey. Women's rights must be immediately respected and implemented in order to end femicides and violence against women. Killers shouldn’t go unpunished and walk in the streets freely. Women who are subjected to violence should develop their self-defense against violence.”

“Our freedom is taken from us”

Ayşe Eser told us that she couldn’t go out in the evening due to the increase of femicides in the country. “Femicides are increasing due to policies of impunity. How can I feel safe while so many women are killed? Have you ever seen a woman, who rapes an animal or burns a man because she doesn’t like the meal he cooked? No, you haven’t. Perpetrators must be severely punished to end femicides and violence against women. In this way, the perpetrators and other people will be afraid of commit such crimes. My family doesn’t allow me to go out at night because they see such news. I have the right to live freely. Women across Turkey face such restrictions. Our freedom is taken from us.”

“Women, nature and animals are not safe”

Mizgin Kırboğa reacted to the increasing rate of femicides and violence against women: “Not only I but also all women living in Turkey don’t feel safe. They begin to worry after sundown. Women are those who build our future but they are the ones who are killed. People call for increasing awareness about femicides on social media platforms but no measure is taken to prevent femicides. We face many things every day and we do not know whether we should protect women, animals, or nature.”

“Istanbul Convention should come into force again”

Speaking about Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, İpek Kurt said, “Men commit crimes because they think they ‘will be released.' Killers are released within two days after killing women. So I definitely don't feel safe. The Istanbul Convention protected women in Turkey. The convention should come into force again to protect women.”