Four women in two different Turkish provinces were victims of femicide on Friday, Turkish media reported.
Zeliha Durmuş was killed by her husband, Süleyman Durmuş, in southeastern Gaziantep province. She was fatally hit in the head with a hard object, and after murdering his wife Süleyman Durmuş turned himself in at the police station.
In northeastern Giresun province, Dilek Çamur, Damla Çabukçu and Ayşe Kılıç were shot dead by Nuri Çamur, from whom Dilek Çamur was seeking a divorce.
According to Dilek Çamur’s family, when Nuri Çamur learned that she had filed for divorce, he tried to “persuade” her with a gun in his hand. When they began to argue, he shot Dilek Çamur and other family members who were at the scene. Nuri Çamur also tried to kill himself with the same weapon and sustained injuries. He is currently receiving treatment in a local hospital.
The We Will Stop Femicide platform said on Twitter perpetrators of femicide were protected by courts because they were given minimum prison sentences due to “extenuating” circumstances.
#DilekÇamur Giresun’da boşanma aşamasındaki Nuri Çamur tarafından ateşli silahla öldürüldü. Fail, olayı engellemeye çalışan #AyşeKılıç’ı ve #DamlaÇubukçu’yu da öldürdü.
Failler yasaları uygulamayanlardan güç alıyor. Mücadelemizle kadın cinayetlerini durduracağız.#KadınCinayeti pic.twitter.com/pEAZVDDBH9
— Kadın Cinayetlerini Durduracağız Platformu (@KadinCinayeti) September 23, 2022
The Purple Solidarity, a women’s rights platform, said misogynistic policies had led to a rise in cases of femicide in Turkey.
Nuri Çamur, boşanma aşamasında olduğu Dilek Çamur'u ve evde bulunan Damla Çubuk ile Ayşe Kılıç'ı öldürdü!
Biz kadınlar dünyanın dört bir yanında yükselen kadın düşmanı politikalar ve erkek şiddeti sonucunda öldürülmeye ve yaşamın her alanında şiddette açık hale getiriliyoruz! pic.twitter.com/MloDCwD1i5
— MorDayanışma (@DayanismaMor) September 24, 2022
Femicides and violence against women are serious problems in Turkey, where women are killed, raped or beaten every day. According to the We Will Stop Femicide Platform, 187 women were murdered and 142 women had died under suspicious circumstances in Turkey alone by August 2022.
Many critics say the main reason behind the situation is the policies of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, which protects violent and abusive men by granting them impunity.
Victims of violence have said Turkish authorities are ineffective in combatting violence. They say their complaints to the police about abusive partners go unanswered and are ignored.
In a move that attracted national and international outrage, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan through a presidential decree pulled the country out of an international treaty in March 2021 that requires governments to adopt legislation prosecuting perpetrators of domestic violence and similar abuse as well as marital rape and female genital mutilation.
The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention, is an international accord designed to protect women’s rights and prevent domestic violence in societies and was opened to signature of member countries of the Council of Europe in 2011.
