 |
Tragic weekend underscores Turks' struggle with gender-based violence
A young woman remains missing after her rapist and the father of her child was released from jail pending trial, the Sabah newspaper reported Monday.
B.D., who lost her mother at a young age, lives with her brother, father and uncle in İzmir. Two years ago, when she was 16 years old, B.D. was raped by her cousin's friend, S.D. Although she did not tell her family at first because she was afraid they would kill her, all came out a few months later when her family realized she was pregnant.
After her father filed a criminal complaint, S.D. was sentenced to one year and 15 days in prison. However, the sentence was suspended. B.D. was reportedly leaving work last Tuesday when S.D. confronted her with a knife and took her by force to Bornova Homeros Valley, where he raped her a second time. When S.D. was released pending trial for the second rape, B.D. disappeared. Her father said: “My daughter is lost. I am worried she has been killed.”
In a separate incident in Germany, the body of a Turkish girl who sought refuge in a shelter last August was found buried at a golf course over the weekend near the city of Lubeck.
After Arzu Özmen was kidnapped on Nov. 1 of last year in the city of Detmold, a massive search for the 18-year-old that included 200 police officers ended in vain. According to German media outlets, Özmen's body was found Sunday buried at a golf course in Grosensee town. As reported by the Milliyet daily, Özmen was killed elsewhere and then buried at the golf course.
According to the German press, Özmen had been dating a 20-year-old German named Alexander, who worked at a bakery. One of her brothers told her to break up with him, and when Özmen refused, he beat her.
Last August, Özmen, who could no longer stand the pressure from her family, fled to a women's shelter. On Nov. 1, Alexander came to visit her at the shelter. An hour later, three masked figures arrived and abducted Özmen.
In Konya's Mevlüt district, a man came forward Sunday to confess to the murder of a female teacher last month, the Hürriyet daily reported Monday.
Sündüs Keleş, 33, who had taught at Kelhasan High School for four years, was found dead in her home on Dec. 11. The gendarmerie detained the school's director -- a college friend of Keleş -- and his wife, another teacher at the school.
However, İsmail Çakmak, 21, confessed to the gendarmerie Sunday that he killed Keleş. According to Çakmak's statement, he had waited outside Keleş's home for three hours before he broke in and tried to rape her from behind. When Keleş fought back, he said he strangled her with a scarf. Çakmak was arrested.
About seven months ago, Çakmak kidnapped his girlfriend, who was under 18 years old, but was released pending trial.
In Konya's Karatay district, a mother of three named Zeynep Yüksel, 45, was killed Monday morning. Paramedics arrived on the scene to find the lifeless body of Yüksel, whose neck had been slit. Police have met with relatives and neighbors and continue to investigate her murder.
Adana police release pamphlet for victims
The Adana Police Department has released a six-item pamphlet on measures women can take if they are victims of domestic violence. The pamphlet proposes women come up with a code word and share it with their neighbors so they will know if there is trouble. The pamphlet also advises women go to women's organizations, psychiatric centers and shelters if they are in need of help.
Women who are being abused should come up with an escape plan and teach it to their children as well as have a safe place outside the home to keep money, a key and copies of important documents.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BÜLENT KENEŞ |  |
||
| What befell Niyazi-i Misri in the past is happening to Fethullah Gülen now | |||
| EKREM DUMANLI |  |
||
| When a call for fairness and reason finds acceptance | |||
| ŞAHİN ALPAY |  |
||
| Uludere, test case for democracy in Turkey | |||
| EMRE USLU |  |
||
| Are the Kurds mentally divorced from Turkey? | |||
| GÖKHAN BACIK |  |
||
| Erdoğan, Gül and Davutoğlu: the inner bargain on Turkish foreign policy | |||
| MARKAR ESAYAN |  |
||
| Taking lessons from previous experiences with the military | |||
| YAVUZ BAYDAR |  |
||
| Qualm | |||
| ÖMER TAŞPINAR |  |
||
| A new phase in Syria? | |||
| İHSAN DAĞI |  |
||
| Turkish foreign policy: Time for a re-evaluation | |||
| SEYFETTİN GÜRSEL |  |
||
| Poor-friendly economic growth and the AK Party | |||
| CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON |  |
||
| Missing women, missing opportunities | |||
| BERK ÇEKTİR |  |
||
| Changes to incentives for investment in Turkey | |||
| MERVE BÜŞRA ÖZTÜRK |  |
||
| The 1960 coup: a final test for democracy | |||
| AMANDA PAUL |  |
||
| Ukraine: a lost country | |||
| MÜMTAZER TÜRKÖNE |  |
||
| The 52nd anniversary of May 27 | |||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
