The recent debate regarding Turkey’s possible withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention has sparked protests all over Turkey. Women and Lgbti+ have taken to the streets in defense of their basic human rights. We spoke to 5 of these organizations across the country.
We spoke with Meral Danış Beştaş, member of Parliament from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), one of the lawyers in the Opuz Case, in which the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) held a state accountable for discrimination caused by gender-based domestic violence for the first time. Beştaş explains how the Opuz Case was foundational for the Istanbul Convention.
We interviewed Prof. Dr. Nilgün Toker on the connections between the recent restrictive regulation on social media, the status change of Hagia Sophia from museum to mosque, and the current discussions to rescind from the Istanbul Convention.
Thanks to the Istanbul Convention, in the event of a partner violation or persistent pursuit against LGBTQ+ individuals, we can get results when we apply for restraining or protection orders.
The state, which under normal circumstances has no qualms about meddling with our private lives, anchors such cases to the protection of family in a patriarchal manner if the case involves a family.
If we could only tell abused children that abuse is abuse, and that it has nothing to do with love.