In May 2026, 16 women were killed by men, and 33 women were found suspiciously dead.

2026 May Report*

16 Femicides and 33 Suspicious Deaths of Women in May

The fight to stop femicides in Turkey has been going on for 16 years. As the Platform, since we identified the need in 2010, we have been disclosing femicide data to the public. Instead of explaining how many women have been killed, why, how and by whom, the Ministry of Interior distorts the facts by saying that the data on femicides are incorrectly prepared. It is the duty of the state not only to disclose the reality of femicides and suspicious deaths of women but also to implement concrete solutions to stop femicides. We will continue to fight for the mobilization of all relevant ministries and mechanisms to fulfil this duty.

We would like to share the names of the women, each of whom was a life:

Femicide data in the month of May, by city:

Data Highlights:

The reason behind 14 femicides could not be determined

This month, 16 femicides were committed, and 33 women were found suspiciously dead. 1 woman was killed on economic pretexts and 1 woman was killed on the pretext that she was having a mental breakdown. The reason behind 14 of the 16 femicides could not be determined.

The inability to determine the excuse behind the murder of 14 women is the result of violence against women and femicides being rendered invisible. Unless it is determined by whom and why women were killed, unless a fair trial is conducted and the suspects, defendants and murderers are given deterrent punishments and unless preventive measures are implemented, violence continues to increase in size.

Women were most often killed by the man they were married to.

Of the 16 women killed in May, 5 were killed by the man they were married to, 3 by the man they used to be married to, 2 by the man they were with, 2 by a relative, 1 by her son and 1 by a friend. The relation of the perpetrator could not be determined for 2 women. This month, 31% of the women who were killed were killed by the man they were married to.

Women were most often killed in their homes

5 of the women were killed at their homes, 3 in the middle of the street, 2 in a deserted place, 1 in a car and 1 in a construction site. It could not be determined where 4 women were killed. 31% of the women killed this month were killed in their homes.

Women were most often killed with a firearm

9 of the women killed this month were killed with firearms, 3 with sharp objects, 2 by being beaten to death, 1 by strangulation and 1 by being burned to death. 56% of the women killed this month were killed with firearms.

Alimony Is Not a Favor, It Is a Right

The Constitutional Court’s decision to overturn the provision making poverty-level alimony ‘indefinite’ is a ruling that disregards the deep inequalities and poverty in the country, and runs counter to the principle of social state. What is actually unconstitutional and unlawful is not indefinite alimony itself, but this annulment decision which seeks to deprive women, who have provided years of unpaid care work within marriage, been excluded from the workforce, and pushed into insecurity and poverty, of their vital right to alimony.

When women are cut off from the economic sphere due to child care, domestic labor and gender inequality, they cannot be told to “fend for themselves” after divorce. This decision directly impacts women’s right to divorce, their will to build a life free from violence and their economic independence. Targeting alimony deepens women’s poverty; it condemns women to marriage, dependency, and, at times, the cycle of violence.

We will not give up on the rights women have won. We will continue to defend our right to alimony, our struggle for equality and our demand for a life free from violence.

We will not Tolerate Nullification, Trusteeship, or the Usurpation of the People’s Will

The ‘absolute nullity’ ruling issued regarding the main opposition party CHP’s 38th Ordinary Congress is not merely an internal party dispute; it represents the danger of politics being reshaped through judicial intervention. The removal of the elected leadership through court rulings narrows the space for democratic politics; it casts the will expressed at the ballot box and the right to vote and be elected into the shadow of contentious judicial processes.

If the ballot box collapses, women are the first to lose. This is because women’s struggle for equality, freedom, secularism and a life free from violence can only exist alongside the guarantee of democratic rights and freedoms. Today, this is not merely an issue concerning CHP. The issue is the protection of democratic representation, political participation and the will of the people. In our struggle for an equal and free life for women, we will not give up on democracy, the ballot box or our will.

Case Developments of May

In Ankara, police officer Hüseyin Kılıç had entered a home without a search warrant and sexually assaulted A. A. In the trial, Hüseyin Kılıç was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison for sexual assault, but was released after the court took into account the time he had already spent in custody.

In the trial regarding the murder of Sedef Güler, whose body was found in the sea in Istanbul wrapped in a rug with her hands and feet bound, the court sentenced the defendant Yavuz Güngör to aggravated life imprisonment for the crime of ‘intentional murder of a woman’.

What happened regarding women in May?

In Afghanistan, where the Taliban is attempting to erase women from every aspect of life, female football players are returning to the field. This is not merely a sports news; it is a struggle for women to declare, “We are here” in the face of bans, oppression and male-dominated regimes. Our solidarity for women’s freedom will know no bounds.

The murder of 14-year-old Agostina Vega in Argentina brought women back into the streets under the slogan “Ni Una Menos”. In a country where the Ministry of Women has been shut down and policies to combat violence have been weakened, this murder shows us once again that when mechanisms that protect women are eliminated, violence intensifies.

Sexual Violence Increases, Impunity Protects the Perpetrators

Mustafa Ş., who raped S. Ç., the woman he used to be with, and sexually abused her 4-year-old son, after he forced his way into her home through blackmail, was arrested on charges of ‘sexual abuse of victims under the age of 12’ and ‘aggravated sexual assault’.

Suspicious deaths of women should be revealed immediately

As we have been stating in our reports for a while, there is a very serious increase in the number of suspicious deaths of women presented as suicides or natural deaths and in the number of women who were found suspiciously dead during the pandemic. Unfortunately, shedding light on the suspicious deaths of women can be even more difficult than femicides. It is necessary to reveal whether women were killed, whether they were killed by accident, whether women were killed on the basis of gender (whether it was femicide), whether they committed suicide or whether they were driven to suicide.

In Aydın, 24-year-old Mine Mercan died suspiciously after falling from the fourth-floor window at a friend’s house.

In Mardin, 28-year-old Emine Esen was found dead in her home with gunshot wounds.

In Diyarbakır, 15-year-old Hülya Asar was found dead in her home with gunshot wounds.

In Konya, 19-year-old Hene Ebuzeyneb was found dead with her hands tied in the cafe where she worked.

The stories of the life struggles of the 16 women killed in May

In Edirne, 14-year-old Gizem Özdemir was shot and killed with a shotgun by her acquaintance A. Ç.

In Kayseri, Demet B., mother of four, was shot and killed with a firearm in the middle of the street by Dinçer B., the man she was married to. The perpetrator committed suicide with the same weapon.

In Burdur, Kübra Yapıcı was shot and killed with a firearm by İlyas Umut D. and Ataberk S. It was learned that after killing Kübra, the perpetrators burned her body in a barrel which they later threw in a pond.

In Malatya, 35-year-old Feride Karakaraya was shot and killed with a shotgun in the middle of the street by Hüseyin Karakaya, the man she used to be married to.

In Kırşehir, Farkhondeh Ghaem Maghami was strangled to death by Erkan B., the man she was with. It was learned that after committing the murder, the perpetrator threw her body in an empty lot.

In Elazığ, Derya Çelik was shot and killed with a firearm by Murat Çelik, the man she was in the process of divorce. The perpetrator was taken into custody.

In Izmir, 73-year-old Emine Dönmez was burned to death by D.D.

In Konya, 43-year-old Muazzaz Bayhan was killed with a firearm by Münür Turhan, the man she used to be married to and who had been released from prison on leave. The perpetrator was caught.

In Konya, 56-year-old Nazife Çiğdem Dinçer was killed with a sharp object in her home by her son Cihan Dinçer. The perpetrator was caught.

In Denizli, 21-year-old Ayşen Aycan was beaten to death by Turgay Bekdeda, the man she used to be married to.

In Ağrı, Gülden Kömürcü was shot and killed with a firearm in the street by Mehmet Kömürcü, the man she was married to. The perpetrator was caught.

In Hatay, 59-year-old Leyla K. was killed with a firearm by Vahab K., the man she was married to.

In Kocaeli, 37-year-old Alev Yılmaz was killed with a sharp object by Fatih Yılmaz, the man she was married to. The perpetrator committed suicide after the incident.

In Kırklareli, 52-year-old Ayten Öztürk was killed with a sharp object by her relative, B. S.

In Çanakkale, 72-year-old Maya Ülker was beaten to death with a stick by Ramazan Cantürk, the man she was with.

In Antalya, 40-year-old Amine Bozkurt was shot and killed with a firearm in a car by her relative Ömer A.

*Our Report: Every month, the news on violence against women in the press includes cases, new incidents and details about the women's movement. We compile the news reflected in the press and the applications that come directly to us, reach a number and prepare our report within this framework. We analyze, compile and evaluate our Femicide Report according to the concept of femicide. In other words, the conceptualization of femicide is; “the killing or forcing into suicide of individuals of the female gender, from embryo to fetus, infant to child, adult to elderly, by a man, simply because of their gender or on the pretext of their actions contrary to the gender stereotypes. and the perception of gender identity. Femicides should not be perceived sorely as murders in which people of the female gender are killed. In these murders committed with hatred, what is attacked is the female identity itself”