Turkey's Erdogan acknowledges 'alarming' rise in violence against women
After one of the deadliest months for femicides, the Turkish president highlights the country’s surge in violence against women but provides little reassurance to rights groups.
ANKARA — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday admitted that violence against women and children has reached alarming levels, a surge Turkey's women’s rights groups have been decrying in recent weeks.
“At a time when violence against women and children has reached alarming levels, I believe we need to learn more about the family life of our Prophet and take him more as an example,” Erdogan said in a televised speech.
He was speaking during an event organized by Turkey’s state-run religious body, Directorate of Religious Affairs, or Diyanet, which has been receiving heavy criticism from civic groups over its controversial sermons that activists slam as attacks on women’s rights.
Erdogan’s admission came as Turkey marked one of the deadliest months for femicides. Forty women were killed in August in Turkey, according to We Will Stop Femicide, a nongovernmental organization that tracks gender-based violence. October 2024, the deadliest month since tracking began in 2010, saw only eight more women killed than last month.
