Turkey pulls out of Istanbul convention

Turkey has pulled out of an international accord designed to protect women, drawing protests from campaigners.

The account led to thousands of woman taking to the street in Istanbul protesting the decision Saturday (20 March).

It signed the Council of Europe’s convention 10 years ago at its launch in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

The pact seeks to prevent, prosecute and eliminate domestic violence.

Turkey’s decision was described as “devastating” for efforts to combat domestic violence by the head of Europe’s top human rights body, the Council of Europe.

“This move is a huge setback to these efforts and all the more deplorable because it compromises the protection of women in Turkey, across Europe and beyond,” Secretary General Marija Pejcinovic Buric said.

On social media, Turkey’s minister for family, labour and social policies, Zehra Zumrut, said women’s rights were protected by the country’s constitution. She did not give a reason for withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention, which is the world’s first binding treaty to prevent domestic violence.

But top government officials said Turkey’s domestic law would protect women’s rights instead.

“Preserving our traditional social fabric” will protect the dignity of Turkish women, Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Twitter.

“For this sublime purpose, there is no need to seek the remedy outside or to imitate others.”

Gokce Gokcen, deputy chairperson of Turkey’s opposition Republican People’s Party, tweeted that abandoning the convention meant “keeping women [as] second class citizens and letting them be killed”.

World Health Organisation data shows 38% of women in Turkey are subject to violence from a partner in their lifetime, compared with 25% in Europe.