Women in Turkey
All topics-
Interview with Turkish human rights lawyer Canan Arin
"Women in Turkey are fighting to keep their rights"
As 1 July approaches, the date when Turkey will officially pull out of the Istanbul Convention on violence against women, Qantara.de speaks to Canan Arin, one of the co-founders and most well-known voices of the Turkish feminist movement. Interview by Ceyda Nurtsch
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Hit streaming series "Fatma's Revenge"
Netflix takes on the Turkish macho
Since the end of April, a Netflix series has been broadcast in Turkey about the cleaner Fatma, who searches for her missing husband in six episodes and ends up in a murderous odyssey. The series celebrates the woman as a hero who defends herself against humiliation, threats and sexual harassment, writes Jochen Menzel
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Turkey's femicide problem
"It was suicide!" – a state-sanctioned cover-up?
According to figures released by a leading Turkish rights organisation, 300 women were murdered in Turkey last year. The number of unreported cases is apparently much higher, however, since many unexplained deaths of women are classified as suicides. By Burcu Karacas
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International Women's Day
Fatma Aliye, pioneering women's rights under the Ottomans
The fight for women's rights around the world continues. Fatma Aliye, Turkey's first female novelist and a pioneer of women's rights in the Ottoman Empire, is a figure who deserves greater recognition. By Canan Topcu
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Violence against women
Femicide on the rise in Turkey
The recent murder of Turkish student Pinar Gültekin by her ex-boyfriend has sparked outrage in Turkey. Women's rights activists are calling for the government to tackle the widespread problem of femicide in the country, but their calls are being met with silence from the government and in some cases even tear gas and rubber bullets by police. By Daniel Bellut
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The Istanbul Convention and women's protection
Bombing the heart of the family in Turkey?
Turkey signed up to the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention, which aims to protect women from violence. Conservative forces in the country, however, are calling for Turkey's immediate withdrawal, claiming the traditional family is in danger. By Pelin Unker and Daniel Derya Bellut
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Impact of Coronavirus
Rise in domestic violence in the Middle East
As authorities across the region struggle to contain the pandemic with curfews and lockdowns, few have thought of the knock-on effects. For many women, more time at home means more physical abuse from family members. By Maram Shahatit
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Women in Turkey
Ankara turns a blind eye to femicide
A young Turkish woman was recently brutally murdered on her way home – one of 430 women killed in 2019 alone. Women's rights organisations are calling for better protection, but the government is doing almost nothing. By Daniel Bellut and Burcu Karakas
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Interview with Turkish author Asli Erdogan
"There is nothing left of democracy in Turkey"
For Turkish author Asli Erdogan the annullation of the mayoral electoral result in Istanbul marked the end of democracy in Turkey. Gezal Acer spoke to her about her life in German exile and the situation of writers and freedom of speech in Turkey
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Women in Turkey
The headscarf is slipping
Not long ago women in Turkey fought to cover their hair, yet now it seems the headscarf has fallen out of favour. Seventeen years into Erdoganʹs rule, some things are floundering – including the assumption that Turkish society is becoming increasingly conservative. By Christiane Schlotzer
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Turkish televangelist Adnan Oktar
Ambassador of Islamic Creationism
The incarceration of televangelist Adnan Oktar has made headlines in Turkey. Since the early 1980s, Oktar, a controversial figure in his native Turkey, has been spreading his views of Islam, a brand of Islamic Creationism. He has promoted his theories by distributing thousands of copies of his book "The Atlas of Creation" and, until recently, on his own television channel. Hakim Khatib takes a closer look at an outlandish character who has been described as the "most notorious cult leader in Turkey"
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Photographer Charlotte Schmitz
Between documentation and activism
Charlotte Schmitz is one of the most significant emerging photographers of our times, capturing refugees, Erdogan supporters and sex workers on camera. She travels the world and lets her protagonists shape their own images. By Ceyda Nurtsch