Turkey: Activists protest brutal murder of young woman

A rights group, We Will Stop Femicides Platform, and some other rights team have come together to protest against the killing of Turkish women on the streets.

This was triggered by a recent murder of Pinar Gultekin, a 27 year olf University student killed in the Aegean province of Mugla.

Pinar was reported missing last week but was later found dead in the woods on Wednesday July 22, 2020.

Postmortem results reported a strangulation with her physique put inside a barrel which was burned and had concrete poured on it.

The brutal murder of one more Turkish woman has triggered widespread outrage in the nation, with many taking to the streets and social media to express their anger.

However, her former companion, Cemal Metin Avci, who has confessed to the killing has been arrested in relation to the murder.

Nevertheless, the anger about the murder and doubt about safety of every other woman in Turkey still continue.

Many people have protested on their social media handles and called for additional motion by the authorities.

Fidan Ataselim, the secretary of We Will Stop Femicides Platform, speaking at an Istanbul rally said, “We are carrying banners for a woman we do not know. It is enough now. We want to live.”

She mentioned and demanded that the federal government implement the Istanbul Convention higher.

“The solution is clear. Open and read the Istanbul Convention,” said Ataselim.

Zehra Zumrut Selcuk, Turkey’s minister of household, labour and social providers also mentioned in a tweet that, “The sadness of our daughter Pinar Gultekin, who was murdered in Mugla, has pierced through our hearts. Another life has been lost.”

She added the federal government would “intervene in the case to follow the judicial process so that the murderer will get the hardest possible sentence”.

Meanwhile, social media users has also continue to voice their anger over the murder, utilizing the hashtag #pinargultekin.

Gozde Aydin tweeted, “We want justice for all the girls, daughters, sisters, mothers that are being brutally murdered every single day in Turkey!”

“The latest femicide once again proves how hard it is to live in Turkey as a woman. How many more femicides do we need to hear of?” Rengul Selma tweeted.

According to We Will Stop Femicides Platform, at least 474 ladies have been murdered in 2019, most of them by present or former companions, members of the family, or unrelated males who needed a relationship with them.