This summer, I traveled to Istanbul, Turkey to participate in a study-abroad program for one month.
While I was overseas, I heard of numerous human rights issues that the Turkish government has chosen to ignore or has failed to properly address.
The accounts I heard and the stories I read prompted me to write this three-part series calling for the Turkish government and its people to stand up for change.
In previous columns I discussed the failure of the Turkish government to adopt measures to protect the LGBT community and the discrimination that is prevalent against the Kurdish population.
Last, but certainly not least, I would like to call for Turkey to adopt measures to protect victims of domestic abuse and against the so-called ‘honour’ killings.
When I began researching this topic, I was already aware of the disturbing statistics revealing how widespread domestic abuse was in Turkey.
According to The Global Post, four out of ten women in Turkey are beaten by their husbands. Almost 90 percent of those women do not seek help.
I knew the statistics, but nothing would prepare me for disturbing and gruesome stories I was about to read.
There was the story of Nahide Opuz, who, in 2002, was stabbed seven times by her ex-husband who then proceeded to run her over in a car, reported BBC News. Opuz’s ex-husband later shot and killed his mother-in-law, who was also run over by the car.
Her ex-husband was sentenced to a whopping 3 months in jail for stabbing his ex-wife. His sentence was later reduced to a 385 Euro fine.
Three hundred eighty-five Euros is equivalent to approximately $530. This sum, which is the recommended fine for shoplifting in the state of Florida, is deemed an appropriate fine for stabbing your wife seven times in Turkey.
Opuz’s ex-husband was later sentenced to life in prison for killing his mother-in-law, but was released because he claimed he committed the murder the protect his family’s “honour.”
There was Sidika Platin, whose husband beat her until her face bruised and sliced off her ear in 2009, reported CNN. On another occasion, Platin was taken to the hospital and was treated for a third-degree burn in the shape of an iron on her back.
Platin’s husband was sentenced to 15 months in prison for assault. Only 15 months.
Even more repulsing – he didn’t serve one day of his sentence and was in the same home as his wife and children two months after the incident.
I don’t know what is more repugnant – the fact that domestic abuse is so common in Turkey, or the fact that the Turkish government doesn’t make the faintest effort to stop it.
Sadly, domestic abuse exists in every country, but that does not mean that we can sit by and watch it happen.
It is up to the government and law enforcement to take a stand, provide support for battered women, and establish proper punishments for abuse.
What will it take for the Turkish government to take heed to the horrible injustices that are being committed on their own soil every single day?
Let us hope that it is the image of people around the world standing up and demanding change, not one more innocent life.
Reach the columnist at eeeaton@asu.edu Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.
