Women in Turkey

Muhterem Evcil was stabbed to death by her estranged husband at her workplace in Istanbul, where he had repeatedly harassed her in breach of a restraining order. The day before, authorities detained him for violating the order but let him go free after questioning.

In an appeal for increased gender equality in local politics, Turkish Women Mayors Platform head Nurgül Uçar Aktuğ has expressed concerns over the strikingly low number of elected female local administrators.

The rate of trust on friends has declined in Türkiye by some 12.7 percent in a year, a survey showed.

According to the survey by the company Areda, the percentage of Turks trusting their friends was 51.8. This rate was 64.5 percent in a previous survey conducted in August 2021.

In the last 13 days 12 women have been killed in Türkiye as women's rights defenders cry out against the lack of preventative policies.

Some of these women, who were killed by their husbands or ex-husbands despite the restraining orders, were taken away from life with their child or mother.

Women protest in Istanbul against Turkey's decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, March 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN

The European Union and U.N. Women are set to provide financial and technical support to 22 civil society organizations in Turkey with an aim to advance women's rights and gender equality in the country.

Representatives of organizations from 17 province across the country came together for an award ceremony in Ankara with the participation of U.N. Women and EU senior officials.

Women in Turkey, who got the right to vote and be elected in 1934 before many European countries, celebrated the 87th anniversary of getting full suffrage on Dec. 5.

Violence against women and femicide continue to be major problems in Turkey, with worrying statistics and daily updated death tolls showing that current preventive measures are far from sufficient.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu announced his party's six-step plan for women in Turkey to be implemented within six months if they come to power.

As the violence against women and femicides continues to be a deeply rooted and prevalent issue in Turkey, human rights defenders and activists are debating whether the hotlines called "calm lines" will help prevent the violence the way it partly did in Colombia.