Turkey quits Istanbul Convention which punishes violence against women
Turkey has withdrawn from the 2011 Istanbul Convention which obliges governments to adopt legislation punishing violence against women.
Here, demonstrators on International Women's Day in Istanbul, March 8, 2021. REUTERS - CANSU ALKAYA
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4 min
Turkey has withdrawn from the world's first binding instrument to prevent and combat violence against women, according to a presidential decree published on Friday, March 19.
This decision immediately drew criticism from the main opposition party, the CHP.
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After months of controversy, Turkey has taken action, reports our correspondent in Istanbul,
Anne Andlauer
.
It is by a decree published in the middle of the night that Recep Tayyip Erdogan announces the withdrawal of his country from the "Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence" , better known as the Istanbul Convention.
This Convention, the current Turkish President - then Prime Minister - was the first signatory in May 2011. It obliges governments to adopt legislation punishing domestic violence and similar abuses, including marital rape and sexual abuse. female genital mutilation.
Legally, the method is questionable.
A text adopted by the Turkish Parliament cannot, in principle, be annulled by the President.
But the stake, for Tayyip Erdogan, is purely political.
Last year, under pressure from religious groups ready to cash in their support for the 2023 election, executives of the ruling AKP party accused the treaty of damaging the "
structure of the Turkish family
".
They claimed that the convention, by banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, was in fact encouraging homosexuality.
Its references to equality were, according to them, used by
the LGBT community
to be better accepted in society.
They also argued that this text was one of the causes of the increase in the number of divorces.
Turkey had debated a possible withdrawal from the convention after an official of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party raised the question of abandoning the treaty last year.
Since then, women have taken to the streets of Istanbul and other cities, calling on the government to stick to the Convention.
The decree therefore arouses the anger of feminist associations.
The main opposition party CHP criticized the move.
Gokce Gokcen, CHP vice-president in charge of human rights, tweeted that abandoning this convention meant "
letting women be killed
".
"
Despite you and your malfeasance, we are going to stay alive and revive the Convention,
" she wrote on Twitter.
Demonstrations to guarantee women's rights
Turkey's constitution and domestic regulations will “
guarantee women's rights
,” said Zehra Zumrut Selcuk, Minister of Family, Labor and Social Services, according to the official Anadolu news agency.
"
We will continue our fight against violence, with the principle of zero tolerance,
" she added.
Domestic violence and femicide remain a serious problem in Turkey.
A man was arrested on March 14 in the north of the country, after a video was posted on social networks in which he is seen hitting his ex-wife in the street.
According to the Platform "We will stop feminicides", at least 300 women were murdered last year in Turkey.
The platform called for a “
collective fight against those who abandoned the Istanbul Convention
” and for a protest demonstration this Saturday, March 20 in Kadikoy, in the Asian part of Istanbul, in a message on Twitter.
"
Give up this decision, implement the Convention
", urged in a tweet the secretary general of the organization Fidan Ataselim.
►
To read: Violence against women: feminists in Turkey call for rallies
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