Turkey: Women protest possible withdrawal from an international pact

Thousands of women on Wednesday were on the streets of several Turkish cities to protest against gender-based violence and demand the country remain a signatory to an international pact against such attacks, Reuters reported.

Women at the rallies held posters reading, “Istanbul Convention Saves Lives”.

Chanting their support for the treaty named as Istanbul Convention, women chanted, “The choice is ours, the decision is ours, the night is ours, the street are ours.”

Istanbul Convention is an international agreement which is against attacks towards women signed in the Turkish megacity in May 2011.

The Istanbul Convention addresses systemic violence against women and the state’s role in preventing circumstances leading to femicide and domestic abuse.

READ: ‘We will be victims of an honour killing,’ say Saudi sisters at risk of deportation from Turkey

Last month, the killing of 27-year-old Pinar Gultekin by her ex-boyfriend sparked outrage, galvanizing Turkey’s women’s movements.

The young economics student’s murder has sparked mass protests in Turkey and ignited an online outcry against gender-based violence.

Turkey became the first country to ratify a Council of Europe Convention on preventing domestic violence in 2011.

Since the beginning of 2020, 98 women in Turkey have been killed by men that they knew, according to Hurriyet Daily News.