Turkey endangers women’s rights as it withdraws from the Istanbul Convention

Turkey’s decision to pull out from the Istanbul Convention shocked many, however, despite a long fomentation by the government and their allies, Turkey withdrew from the women’s protection treaty.

The move came without warning on 20 March, surprising government officials and various women rights activists in the nation who trusted that the matter had at least made an impression and would have been addressed.

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The government’s communications directorate stated that “convention was hijacked by a group of people that were trying to normalize homosexuality”, which it declared was incongruent with Turkey’s social value.

“It subverts women’s rights and conveys some unacceptable signals to all ladies in Turkey and away” stated Dunja Mijatović, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights.

Turkey approved the Istanbul Convention, as it was opened for signature in this city, in 2012. This agreement is an extraordinary legal instrument to handle violence against females. 

It covers not just domestic violence but also different types of brutalities against women including physical and mental abuse, crimes in the name of honor, rape, sexual harassment, and by doing forced marriage.

The Convention asks states to execute a wide range of practical steps to stop brutality against women, shield the victims, and prosecute the culprits. 

The choice to endorse the Convention was taken collectively by the Turkish Parliament and the content is upheld by the entirety of women rights defenders in Turkey who have urged across the nation to fully implement it.

The fear amid the LGBT community and the women rights activists is that the withdrawal of the women security treaty will again normalize the ill-treatment and brutality against women and people of minority groups.