The Women’s Advocacy Network gathered in front of the Süreyya Opera House in Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey, and reminded that Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention two years ago with Erdogan’s decision published at midnight on March 20. Women once again said they will not give up on the Istanbul Convention. Istanbul Convention provided some protection against domestic abuse and other assaults against women.
The Women’s Advocacy Network said, “We will bring back the Istanbul Convention for those who are here and those who are no longer with us. We do not give up our lives, each other, or our rights. We defend our lives, and our rights. We are not giving up our lives” and gathered in front of the Süreyya Opera House in Kadıköy.
“On the night of March 20, 2021, with the signature of Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish President, Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention, which provides guarantees to women and LGBTI+ people against male violence. When they withdrew from the Istanbul Convention; They confessed that they left women and LGBTI+ people vulnerable in the midst of violence and that they would reward men with impunity. We know that there are dysfunctional structures, like that of the justice of the patriarchal state, the huge courthouses, that protect the perpetrators and capital, not women, and leave us condemned to violence. They exploit our lives and our labor by imprisoning us in families full of violence, exploitation, and abuse, rotten houses where they earn millions through their auctions, and precarious paid and unpaid jobs. They are elevating their power by taking over women’s lives. We don’t want to be trapped under this rubble! We want all of life, not crumbs! As women and LGBTI+, we will come out of this wreckage through our feminist struggle! We will take back the Istanbul Convention for those who are still with us here and those who can no longer be!” and the slogan “Not male justice, but real justice” was chanted.
“We know that at least 600 women and LGBTI+ people have been slaughtered since the Istanbul Convention was terminated by a single man’s decision overnight! The murderous male state of women is also responsible for the earthquake massacre calling it a destiny plan. Homes where we are imprisoned, where we are subjected to violence, where we are vulnerable, are forced upon us with the cooperation of the state and capital! With the earthquake, the lives of women and LGBTI+ people became even more unsafe. Unaccompanied minors, instead of being protected by the state, were handed over to child-abusing sects, paving the way for abuse. The Istanbul Convention is our gain. We were the ones who filled the courtrooms and forced and implemented the Istanbul Convention by stating that it was real justice, not male justice. We will not give up our lives, our rights, our demands,” and the slogan “We are not silent, we are not afraid, we do not obey” was chanted.
MB Sendika.Org. News