Women's Rights and Gender Equality: Ongoing Struggle Against Violence and Systemic Inequality

TurkeySociety

Feb 20

Written By Victor Raab-Hubertus Corrado Von Tiele-Winckler

Turkey experiences recurrent and severe gender-based violence generating a humanitarian crisis that contradicts the nation's constitutional promises to equality. According to women's rights advocates, 429 women were killed in femicides in 2024 alone (media-reported cases only), marking the highest femicide rate since 2010. Patterns reveal systematic abuse facilitated by institutional impunity: ineffective protective orders frequently fail to prevent intimate partner violence, and perpetrators often avoid accountability through legal loopholes.

In 2024, the Istanbul Bar Association's Legal Aid Bureau received 7,310 petitions for legal assistance, 6,814 of which were from women—a figure that demonstrates extreme vulnerability. Women's organizations highlight that legal frameworks prove inadequate to prevent abuse. To make matters worse, Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention (an international treaty addressing violence against women) in 2021, indicating that the government has deprioritized gender equality. The departure corresponded with rising traditionalist rhetoric emphasizing "family values" and conventional gender roles.

President Erdogan's declaration of 2025 as the "Year of the Family" and statements promoting increased birth rates reflect policies that prioritize women's reproductive and domestic roles over autonomous personhood. Women's organizations argue this contributes to cultural acceptance of patriarchal authority. However, legal achievements include constitutional revisions ensuring equal status (Article 10), criminal law reforms deleting patriarchal restrictions, and the General Directorate on the Status of Women developing national action plans.

Despite these frameworks, execution remains inadequate—enforcement mechanisms are poor, and judicial corruption sometimes empowers abusers. Patriarchal cultural norms continue to pervade society, yet young feminist activists provide hope by organizing grassroots resistance and demanding accountability. Systemic change requires comprehensive legal reform, effective implementation, and a cultural transformation that fundamentally challenges existing structures.