Turkey Condemned for Quitting Anti-Violence Treaty

Turkey sparked both domestic and international fury on Saturday after it withdrew from the world's first binding treaty to prevent and combat violence against women.

On Saturday, tens of thousands of Turkish women across the country protested President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's midnight decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, a European treaty to stop domestic violence.

"They cannot stop us. We want to live freely and equally. We do not accept this decision," protestors chanted in Istanbul's Kadikoy Pier Square on Saturday.

The 2011 Istanbul Convention, signed by 45 countries around Europe requires governments to adopt legislation prosecuting domestic violence and similar abuse as well as marital rape and female genital mutilation.

Erdogan's decision was largely seen as the latest victory for conservatives in his nationalist party and their allies who argued the treaty damaged family unity.

Turkish women's rights groups, opposition and human rights organisations quickly organised protests across the country and gathered in the streets, amid an ongoing spike in COVID-19 cases.

Under heavy police presence, women peacefully protested in Istanbul and other cities, demanding that the Turkish government change its decision.

Islamist and conservative groups have for a long while been pressuring the Turkish government to withdraw from the Convention, despite the country's poor record on violence against women and femicides.

In 2021 alone, 78 women were killed by men; in 2020 and 2019, another 409 and 421 women were also killed, respectively.

President Erdogan's decision was also met with criticisms from local and international actors.

"Turkey's announced withdrawal from the Council of Europe's...