Women in Turkey take to streets over brutal femicides

Duvar English

The We Will Stop Femicide Platform on Oct. 5 organized a demonstration for İkbal Uzuner and Ayşegül Halil, two 19-year-old women who were brutally murdered by Semih Çelik in Istanbul’s historic walls.

Hundreds of women gathered around the Adrianople Gate in the Fatih district, where the 19-year-old murderer killed and decapitated İkbal Uzuner before dying by suicide. 

Women gathered in front of the historical city walls, where the murder took place, and held a banner reading “We will end impunity. We will stop the harassment and murder.”

The country was outraged after it was revealed that the murderer threw the woman’s head from the city walls, with the victim’s mother present at the scene. Later, it was also discovered that Semih Çelik had killed another woman named Ayşegül Halil in the Eyüpsultan district.

During the protest, signs reading "Ministry, open your eyes, women were killed here" were displayed, alongside chants such as "Violence will not go unpunished," "Perpetrators will not go unpunished," "AKP, don’t just watch, enforce the law," and "You will never walk alone."

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been known for its inaction in addressing the increasing threat of femicides in the country while also attacking the existing prevention mechanisms such as withdrawal from Istanbul Convention.

Hundreds of women participated in Istanbul's protest, which was supported by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party and many non-governmental organizations. 

“What women need is equality, not family,” it was said during the protest, which also emphasized that historical city walls will now be remembered with the murder of women.

Protests spread across country

In addition to the two women killed in Istanbul, the murders of Sonay Öztürk by Aslan Uğur Araç in Mersin's Mezitli district, and Bedriye Işık by specialist sergeant Muhammed Recai Işık in Diyarbakır, were also protested in Bursa and Mersin provinces.

The Bursa Women's Platform organized a sit-in protest and press statement in response to the growing femicides.

Women chanted slogans such as "Today I could be the next while we scream for İkbal, Ayşegül, and Rojin," and "We are not a family, we are women. Women are in rebellion," along with "No obedience, only resistance" and "We will not be the ideal woman. We will not be silent, we are not afraid, we will not obey."

In the press release, it was emphasized that "while a man murders two women in Istanbul, the state fails to take any protective, preventive, or deterrent measures." It was also added that "the state, through its judiciary and law enforcement, only acts based on social media reactions rather than the testimonies of those subjected to violence. Women facing male violence are turning to social media instead of police stations to make their voices heard and escape abuse."

Mersin Women's Platform also marched to Özgecan Aslan Peace Square against the femicide. The square was also named after a 20-year-old woman who was murdered in Mersin in 2015.

In the statement, they stated, "In this country, which has become a murder scene, we will continue to hold you accountable for our lives, our freedoms, and our rights. Because of the laws you fail to enforce, the system that justifies abuse and praises murderers, and the bloodstained hands with which you cling to power, we are the ones who will make life unbearable for you for every woman, every child, every LGBTQ+ person who is no longer with us."