It aroused international condemnation when the government announced the decision early Saturday morning on the grounds that the convention destroys the unity of Turkish families.
The Istanbul Convention of 2011 is an agreement that the Council of Europe spearheaded to draft. It seeks to combat violence against women, including violence in close relationships, marital rape and female genital mutilation.
Turkey was the first country to sign the convention ten years ago, and the convention is then also named after Istanbul.
Human rights activists call the decision a blow to those who fight for women’s rights and against violence in close relationships.
Angry protesters
– Reverse the decision, implement the convention, shouted thousands of protesters in the Kadikoy neighborhood on the Asian side of Istanbul on Saturday afternoon.
Several of them held up pictures of women killed in Turkey, including one with the text “It is women who win this war”.
– This means that we do not care that women are murdered, says a 23-year-old protester who calls himself Mervenur.
Smaller demonstrations were also held in Ankara and Izmir.
Victory for conservatives
Turkey already has laws to protect women, but the convention included practical measures to protect women and children, including the ability to change identity and to demand ankle braces on dangerous men.
The decision to leave the convention is a victory for conservative circles in Erdogan’s nationalist party and their allies, who believe that the convention opened the door to giving gay rights, harming the nuclear family and promoting divorce.
There has been a debate since last year about a possible withdrawal from the convention, and women have demonstrated in the streets of Istanbul and other cities and called on the government to stick to the agreement.
Critical opposition
The opposition party CHP criticizes Erdogan’s decision.
– Leaving the agreement means making women second-class citizens and letting them be killed, says CHP’s deputy leader Gokce Gokcen.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, one of Erdogan’s top rivals, tweeted about the decision to step on the fight that women have been waging for years.
Even the government-loyal women’s organization Kadem, in which Erdogan’s youngest daughter is vice president, expresses concern and says that the Istanbul Convention “played an important role in the fight against violence”.
Violence against women and murder of women is a major problem in Turkey. Last year, 300 women were killed, and the trend is increasing. So far this year, 77 women have been killed, according to the rights group We want to stop the murder of women platform.
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