Women in Turkey – Solidarity in Times of Crises

Almost a year ago, the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan withdrew from the Istanbul Convention overnight. The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence is the first legally binding standard on combatting gender-based violence (GBV).¹  Claiming that the convention threatens the traditional values of Turkish society has been widely circulated as the reason to withdraw from the treaty. The reality looks different – without the Istanbul Convention, there are no effective legal frameworks to protect women from gender-based violence (GBV). Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in domestic violence. In 2021, the violence resulted in the killing of 417 women.² 

While reports about GBV come in daily, Turkey’s economic situation continues making headlines. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Turkish economy was facing challenges, all thanks to false economic policies and measures. The problem has worsened dramatically since last year; the country is facing sky-high inflation rates, and the Turkish Lira continues losing value. Prices for products are rising daily, leading to growing poverty in the population. The price increase has hit sanitary products, leading to period poverty.³ The pictures of people waiting in long breadlines have become part of Turkey’s new reality. The worsening economy has divided the country even more – with one side tightly holding on to the current president and blaming foreign forces for the economy, while the other side holds one person accountable – the president. Once again, the statements and actions that are taken by the government make one ask where Turkey is heading.

The well-known phrase “the personal is political” by Carol Hanish⁴ fits well into the context of recent developments in Turkey. Violence against women has remained all-time high but has been manifested more and more in the shape of verbal violence in Turkish politics. From the outfits to the lyrics they write, women singers are being targeted publicly. Women’s bodies are openly debated in public, mostly by men. Women are condemned for their choice of clothes, and their morale is questioned. One of the targets of such statements is the Turkish pop artist Gülşen. The singer broke her silence after commentators in the media had called on Gülşen’s partner to ‘control his wife’. Gülşen replied by stating that she is a human being with the freedom of self-determination.⁵ Sezen Aksu, one of Turkey’s most prominent singer-songwriters, was targeted directly by the president during a speech at a Friday prayer due to a song written in 2017. The singer was accused of blasphemy and openly threatened by the president.⁶