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2011 The Istanbul Convention, signed by 45 states and the EU, obliges national governments to pass laws to prevent domestic violence and similar types of violence.
Conservative politicians in Turkey argue that the convention threatens the family unit, promotes divorce, and that the convention’s definition of equality is allegedly abused by the LGBT community to gain wider recognition in society.
A presidential decree published in the Official Gazette on Saturday morning drew ire from human rights groups and calls for protests in Istanbul.
Gokce Gokcen, vice president of the main opposition party CHP, said that the rejection of the convention means that “women are considered second-class citizens, which allows them to be assassinated.”
“Despite you and your evil, we will live and recover the convention,” he wrote on his Twitter account.
Turkey has begun considering withdrawing from the deal after an official from RT Erdogan’s party raised the issue last year.
Since then, women have staged protests in various cities across the country, urging the government to stay true to the convention.
Domestic violence and femicide remain a major problem in Turkey.
On Sunday a man was arrested in the northern part of the country who posted a video on social media beating his ex-wife in the street.
According to the women’s rights group We Will Stop Femicide, 300 women were murdered in the country last year.
In its tweets, the group asked “to fight together against those who decided to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention.”
“The Istanbul Convention was not signed by your wishes, so we will not leave by your wishes,” wrote the group’s general secretary, Fidan Ataselim.
Academic and lawyer specializing in human rights, Karem Altiparmak compared the government’s decision to withdraw from the convention to the military coup of 1980.
“Not only the Istanbul Convention, but also the power of the parliament and the legislature was repealed tonight,” he said.
Human rights groups have accused RTErdogan of pursuing a socially conservative course in Turkey during his 18 years in power.
After the impressive Pride March in Istanbul in 2014, which drew more than 100,000. people, the government responded by banning future events in the city.
And in January, Turkish police arrested four people who, during recent protests at Istanbul University, hung up works of art depicting the holiest place in Islam that Ankara is deemed offensive.
Prepared according to France24 inf.
