2023 March Report* 

23 Femicides and 19 Suspicious Deaths of Women in March 

The fight to stop femicides in Turkey has been going on for 13 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. 

8 women were killed on the pretext of wanting to take decisions about their life 

This month, 23 femicides were committed, and 19 women were found suspiciously dead. 8 women were killed on the pretext of wanting to take decisions about their own life, such as wanting a divorce, refusing to reconcile, refusing to marry, or rejecting a relationship, 2 women were killed on economic pretexts and 1 woman was killed on the pretext that she was under care. The reason behind 12 of the 23 femicides could not be determined. The inability to determine the excuse behind the murder of 12 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. 

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

Femicide data in the month of March, by city: 

By whom were the women killed? 

Of the 23 women killed in March, 9 were killed by the man they were married to, 4 by the man they were with, 2 by the man they used to be with, 2 by their father, 2 by their son, 2 by an acquaintance, 1 by a relative and 1 by the man she used to be married to. This month, 39% of the women who were killed were killed by the man they were married to. 

Women were mostly killed in their homes 

16 of the women were killed at their homes, 4 in the middle of the street, 1 in an hotel, 1 in her workplace and 1 in a forest. 70% of the women killed this month were killed in their homes. 

Women were mostly killed with sharp objects 

12 of the women killed this month were killed with a sharp object, 10 with a firearm and 1 by strangulation. 52% of the women killed this month were killed with sharp objects. 

The employment status of women still cannot be determined 

It is very difficult to determine the employment status of women. We believe that this important data should be taken into consideration by the members of the press. According to the data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), the number of women ‘busy with housework’ increased by 65 thousand compared to the previous year. Thus, according to TÜİK, the number of women who were not even counted within the labour force became 9 million 982 thousand in 2022. TÜİK’s warped data is an attempt to cover up the true extent of women’s unemployment. Women who are not included in or are removed from employment become more vulnerable to the dangers of gender-based discrimination, violence, and femicide. According to the data available this month, 2 of the women were employed. The employment status of 23 of the women is unknown. 

Women’s Lives will not be a Bargain for Elections; Women’s Choice will be 6284 

As the elections draw near, some political parties have started to reveal their misogyny. The current political power has gathered political parties with similar bigoted ideas. We know that one of these parties, HÜDAPAR, had previously made statements against the Istanbul Convention and called for LGBTQI+ hate rallies. The same party had also stated that child marriages were possible. For the Yeniden Refah Partisi, another coalition member, the conditions for joining the alliance included direct attacks on women’s vested rights. The party demands the abolition of the Protection Law Numbered 6284 and alimony, which protects women, and the abandonment of the secular education system. But we, women, will continue to fight against your mentality. Nothing we have won through our struggle can be your electoral bargain. We will make our own decisions about our own lives, fight, resist and live, and you will all go away! 

This reactionary mentality, which withdrew from the Istanbul Convention and made 6284 a target, had also filed a closure lawsuit against our Association We Will Stop Femicides Platform. On the 5th of April, we call for all women and LGBTQ+ to Çağlayan Courthouse for the closure case. They will not be able to touch 6284 or our Platform. The Platform will not stop; it will stop femicides.  

On March 8th, We Were in the Squares  

As every year, we took the streets all over Turkey on March 8th, International Women’s Day! In Ankara, our women members were unlawfully detained. While our members were detained for calling on the political power to resign for failing to fulfil their responsibility in the earthquake, law enforcement officers only watched during the racist hate attacks at the football match between Amedspor and Bursaspor on the same day. Isn’t it the duty of law enforcement to ensure security? Even so, we know they don’t do so. How many women died despite restraining orders, despite repeated complaints to law enforcement? How many women’s suspicious death was left unresolved, and the truth behind them was not revealed due to a lack of adequate investigation? Women are detained while they struggle in the squares; they are ignored while struggling for their lives in their homes, workplaces and streets. But let them know that we will never give up our struggle; we will live equally and free! 

Law No. 6284 and Its Results  

Law No. 6284 regulates many measures, including restraining orders and protection measures. It provides women with many rights, from economic empowerment to changing their identity information.  

It came into force after years of struggle by women’s organizations. If Law No. 6284 is implemented effectively, it protects women. The enactment of Law No. 6284, which was introduced to protect women and prevent violence, was only possible after the Istanbul Convention was signed. 

Tülay Erşahin Yaşar, who had gotten a restraining order against Murat Yaşar, the man she was married to, on the grounds of violence and was preparing to file for divorce, was murdered by him on March 8th, the day the battering investigation ended in a non-prosecution decision. 

Vahit Bıçak, the defendant lawyer on trial for defamation against Ceren Damar, who was killed by her student, was sentenced to 1 year, 5 months and 15 days in prison for “repeated public defamation against the memory of a person”. 

In the case of Pınar Gültekin, who was murdered by Cemal Metin Avcı, the appeal court sentenced Cemal Metin Avcı to aggravated life imprisonment for “deliberately killing by design and tormenting with monstrous feeling” and removed the unjust provocation discount given by the local court. 

In the case against Selçuk Gezici, who stabbed and killed İlknur Gökay Tuncel in 2021, the defendant was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment on the charge of “deliberate killing by design” without an unjust provocation discount. 

All these examples demonstrate how vital the full and effective implementation of the Istanbul Convention and Law No. 6824 is for women. For the effective protection of women, injunctions must be implemented, the process must be followed, all units of the state must protect women’s rights, and public officials who fail to fulfil their duties must not go unpunished. 

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 Istanbul, 28-year-old Nurcan Gülden was found dead, naked in her bed. 

In Konya, the body of a baby girl was found in a garbage storage facility. 

In Ankara, the body of an unidentified woman was found in a lake. 

In Siirt, 27-year-old Kader Yıldız died suspiciously after falling from a rocky cliff. 

In Ankara, 32-year-old Dagmara Veronica Erol was found dead in her home. Law enforcement officials stated that she had been shot with a rifle. 

In Şanlıurfa, 43-year-old Aysel Ay was shot dead by S. A., her son. It was alleged that the suspect accidentally shot her while playing with the gun. S. A. fled the scene and has yet to be found. 

In Diyarbakır, 19-year-old visually impaired Fatmagül Sabruk died after falling from her balcony. 

In Izmir, 19-year-old Nazlı Göl, mother of one, died in a fire in her house. The man she was married to stated he entered the house to save Nazlı and their son but that he could not save Nazlı. 

In Karabük, 18-year-old university student Jeannah Danys Dinabongho Ibouanga was found dead by the Filyos Stream. According to preliminary findings, it was stated that she died of drowning. 

In Batman, 43-year-old Zeynep Ayrılmak, mother of four, was found stabbed to death in her house. The police are looking for Zeynep’s brother as a suspect. 

What happened regarding women in March? 

The 2023’ Lale Dikmen Türker Award’, given by the Architect Kerem Türker Foundation in the field of women’s issues and gender equality, went to the We Will Stop Femicides Platform and SES Equality and Solidarity Association. While receiving the award, our General Representative Gülsüm Kav said, “We would like to dedicate this award to the women who bear the burden of rebuilding life as if an earthquake happened against women.” 

Actress Farah Zeynep Abdullah, who supported Ezgi Mola, who was on trial for ‘insulting’ Musa Orhan, was fined for ‘insult’. 

Selin Ciğerci was subjected to an assault attempt at the opening of her beauty centre in Konya. A group gathered in front of the beauty centre and tried to enter the business. Selin Ciğerci had become the target of radical religious circles for changing her gender. 

The stories of the life struggles of the 23 women killed in March 

In Adana, 24-year-old Zülfiye Dopoğlu was shot dead with a firearm by Mehmet Dopoğlu, her father. The perpetrator, who killed his daughter on the pretext of her running away from home, also killed Zülfiye’s fiancé. 

In Izmir, 30-year-old Aslı Angi was stabbed to death by Mehmet Angi, the man she had divorced 45 days ago. Aslı had gone to the perpetrator’s house accompanied by two police officers to see her children. 

In Ordu, 32-year-old Yeliz Gültaş, mother of 4, was stabbed to death ten times by Muhammer Gültaş, the man she was married to, on the pretext that she wanted a divorce. 

In Batman, 33-year-old Tuğba Atılgan was shot dead with a firearm by Murat Atılgan, the man she was married to, while she was waiting for a minibus. The perpetrator set her house on fire afterwards. 

In Istanbul, 27-year-old Miray Atmaca was shot dead in the head with a firearm by Mevlüt İçin, the man she used to be with, while she was entering her house. The perpetrator then committed suicide with the same gun. It was learned that Miray had gotten a 3-month restraining order against the perpetrator. 

In Malatya, 21-year-old Buse Çelik was stabbed to death by Ö. Y., the man she was with. The perpetrator then stabbed a driver to seize their car. 

In Istanbul, 29-year-old Tülay Erşahin Yaşar was stabbed to death by Murat Yaşar, the man she was married to. The perpetrator then committed suicide by jumping from the 5th floor of their house. It was learned that Tülay had filed a complaint against the perpetrator, and a non-prosecution decision was given on the day she was killed. 

In Manisa, 39-year-old Sabriye Sarıkaya was stabbed to death by Mehmet E., the man her daughter was married to. The perpetrator also killed Sabriye’s husband Mehmet Sarıkaya. The perpetrator was taken into custody. 

In Ankara, 24-year-old Gaye Güven was shot dead by Yiğit Bozkurt, the man she used to be with. After the incident, the perpetrator attempted to flee the scene with a taxi and then committed suicide. 

In Istanbul, D. R. was stabbed to death by S. R., the man she was with. D. R. died after being taken to the hospital. S. R. was taken into custody. 

In Denizli, 48-year-old Arzu Tutal, mother of two, was shot dead by Hıdır Tutal, the man she was married to. The perpetrator tried to commit suicide with the same gun. 

In Izmir, 62-year-old Aysel Genç was shot dead by Davut Yiğitoğlu, the man her daughter Seher Genç used to be married to. Seher Genç was also seriously injured. The perpetrator was taken into custody. 

In Afyonkarahisar, 31-year-old Ebru Tekin was stabbed to death by K. Ç., the man she was with. The perpetrator was taken into custody. 

In Yozgat, Rabia Temel, mother of three, was stabbed to death by Mehmet T., the man she was in the process of divorce and whom she had a restraining order against. Rabia T.’s mother Güler G. was also injured. The perpetrator was caught. 

In Artvin, 35-year-old Canan Bozkurt was shot dead by Özer Bozkurt, the man she was married to. The perpetrator committed suicide after the incident. 

In Kocaeli, 13-year-old Yağmur Rüzgar and her 10-year-old brother Emre Rüzgar were strangled to death by their father, Murat Rüzgar. The perpetrator was arrested. 

In Istanbul, 40-year-old Umıda Tulyaganova was killed with a stone by Rıza Beler, the man she was with. The perpetrator then cut her body into pieces and put them in a refrigerator. The perpetrator was detained. 

In Eskişehir, 55-year-old Elena Samsanova was stabbed to death by Atila Sarıhan, the man she was married to. The perpetrator was detained. 

In Mersin, 48-year-old Yasemin Özer was killed with a firearm by İrfan Özer, the man she was married to, on the pretext of not caring for his mother. The perpetrator then killed his 90-year-old mother, Muzafer Özer, on the pretext that he did not want her to suffer due to her illness. 

In Antalya, 45-year-old interior designer Zehra Çatal was killed with a firearm at her workplace by Yılmaz Fahrioğlu, her alleged former business partner. 

In Adana, 40-year-old Sultan Sarıboğa was murdered at her home with a sharp object by Kasım Sarıboğa, the man she was married to, on the pretext that he suspected she was cheating on him. 

In Manisa, 55-year-old Cemile Karataş was murdered at her home with a sharp object by Emrah Karataş, her son. 

*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 the female gender, from embryo to fetus, from infant to child, from 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”