Since Sarai Sierra’s disappearance on Jan. 21 in Istanbul, some Turks in the media and on Twitter have not only blamed the 33-year-old mother from New York City for her own murder, but have also questioned what she was doing traveling alone in Istanbul. They speculated whether she was a drug courier, a trafficker or perhaps a spy.
The unfortunate death of this young woman is tragic, but the reaction by some segments of Turkish society — inward looking and in denial of the basic facts — is also regrettable. Despite Turks pride in their country, and its emerging role on the international stage, it seems not to have crossed their minds that a foreign woman might travel to Istanbul alone simply because it is one of the world’s most beautiful and historic cities. The perception that women are or should be inferior to men, and the insecurity this breeds among men when this view is challenged, serves to feed impulses that interpret events in a negative light and hurts Turkey’s image.