November 25 is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and on that day HRSI organized a round table discussion on domestic violence under the framework of its 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence Campaign. Without a doubt, violence against women takes many forms depending on the social, political, and cultural mechanisms at play. That is why I wanted to take the liberty of sharing a few wicked examples of the violence against women from the last decade in Turkey, revealing the discriminatory attitude deeply embedded in Turkish society.
About a month ago, after a man stabbed his wife in her back in cold blood, an editor of a well-known newspaper printed a disturbing image of this woman, naked and with the knife still protruding from her back, on the front page of the paper. The Minister of Family and Social Policies criticized the editor instead of choosing to be accountable for the violence itself. This ministry was recently renamed and transformed from the Ministry of Women and Family to the Ministry of Family and Social Policies, further illustrating the government's contempt for women: women don't need their own ministry, they can easily be absorbed into the ministry of family, their true purpose in this life!
Perhaps the most glaring example of all is the verdict reached by the Turkish criminal court a couple of weeks ago that shocked the nation. In 2002, a 13-year-old girl was raped by a group of 26 men, and after 9 drawn out years an appeals court gave its verdict: the perpetrators should be not be charged with a minimum of 10 years as the old Turkish penal code required, because, it was ruled, the girl had given her “consent.” Therefore the sentences of the men were reduced to terms of between one and six years. The very same government, who transformed the legal institutions in the name of democratization, now acts like their hands are tied. Interestingly enough, within the group of 26 men, there are multiple local members of the governing party of Turkey.
Moreover, in the very country in which 13-year-old girls are recognized as being able to give their “consent” for sexual intercourse with over two dozen adult males, the officials of the state university dormitories make female students fill out an embarrassing, invasive questionnaire. This questionnaire contains questions like “Have you ever given birth to a live child?” and “How many relationships have you had so far?” These are the same state universities in which the theology professors state that “It’s not strange for a girl with a mini skirt to get raped.”
Overall, the cultural-religious background of the country feeds this gender specific violence, while the family as a social mechanism, in which the violence take its most evil form, is cherished by every government member. The political-legal mechanisms not only do nothing to rectify these injustices, but inevitably aid in the reproduction of these discriminatory and violent attitudes toward women.
About a month ago, after a man stabbed his wife in her back in cold blood, an editor of a well-known newspaper printed a disturbing image of this woman, naked and with the knife still protruding from her back, on the front page of the paper. The Minister of Family and Social Policies criticized the editor instead of choosing to be accountable for the violence itself. This ministry was recently renamed and transformed from the Ministry of Women and Family to the Ministry of Family and Social Policies, further illustrating the government's contempt for women: women don't need their own ministry, they can easily be absorbed into the ministry of family, their true purpose in this life!
Perhaps the most glaring example of all is the verdict reached by the Turkish criminal court a couple of weeks ago that shocked the nation. In 2002, a 13-year-old girl was raped by a group of 26 men, and after 9 drawn out years an appeals court gave its verdict: the perpetrators should be not be charged with a minimum of 10 years as the old Turkish penal code required, because, it was ruled, the girl had given her “consent.” Therefore the sentences of the men were reduced to terms of between one and six years. The very same government, who transformed the legal institutions in the name of democratization, now acts like their hands are tied. Interestingly enough, within the group of 26 men, there are multiple local members of the governing party of Turkey.
Moreover, in the very country in which 13-year-old girls are recognized as being able to give their “consent” for sexual intercourse with over two dozen adult males, the officials of the state university dormitories make female students fill out an embarrassing, invasive questionnaire. This questionnaire contains questions like “Have you ever given birth to a live child?” and “How many relationships have you had so far?” These are the same state universities in which the theology professors state that “It’s not strange for a girl with a mini skirt to get raped.”
Overall, the cultural-religious background of the country feeds this gender specific violence, while the family as a social mechanism, in which the violence take its most evil form, is cherished by every government member. The political-legal mechanisms not only do nothing to rectify these injustices, but inevitably aid in the reproduction of these discriminatory and violent attitudes toward women.
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