Thousands of people demonstrated in Turkey today, demanding the president Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reconsider its decision and not to withdraw the country from the international convention on combating violence against women, an action already criticized in Europe.
“Cancel your decision, apply the treaty!” shouted the thousands of women and men who had gathered in Kandikioi, Istanbul.
Protesters held pictures of murdered women and placards reading “Women will win this war.”
“I am tired of this patriarchal state. I’m tired of not feeling safe. That’s enough
“Banou, one of the protesters, told AFP. Other rallies, smaller in size, also took place today in Ankara and Izmir, according to Turkish media.
In a decree released Friday’s Saturday night, Erdogan announced that Turkey was withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention, the first international treaty establishing legally binding rules in some 30 countries to address gender-based violence. .
The decision of the Turkish president, which was taken despite the increase in female homicides in the last decade, provoked the anger of women’s rights organizations but also criticism from the European Union.
The Council of Europe, of which Turkey is a member, called the news “overwhelming”, adding that “the protection of women is at stake”.
“Here is the real face of the Turkish government: complete disregard for the rule of law and complete abandonment of human rights,” wrote European Parliament Rapporteur on Turkey Nacho Sanchez Amor on Twitter.
Conservative and Islamic organizations have called on Erdogan to withdraw Turkey from the Convention, arguing that it harms “traditional” family values ​​because it promotes gender equality and “favors” the LGBTQI community by prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Erdogan’s decision has also been criticized inside Turkey by his political opponents.
“It is sad to announce overnight that you are withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention, while we learn every day that new acts of violence against women are being committed,” said Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
The conservative women’s organization KADEM, which is affiliated with the government (a member of which is also one of Erdogan’s daughters), also expressed dissatisfaction, noting that the Istanbul Convention “played an important role in the fight against violence”.
In the face of the avalanche of criticism, the government has tried to appear reassuring.
“Institutions and security forces will continue to fight domestic violence and violence against women,” Interior Minister Suleiman Soilou assured.
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