Is this the last nail in coffin of women, minors' rights in Turkey?
An AKP-led parliamentary commission releases a draft report on how to protect the sanctity of the family in Turkey by providing controversial suggestions.
On Jan. 14, the Turkish parliament established an investigative commission called “Protecting the Integrity of Family,” with the purpose of investigating the causes of the skyrocketing divorce rates. The Republican People's Party (CHP) and Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Turkey's left-leaning opposition parties, announced their disapproval. Since then the draft report of the commission, nicknamed Divorce Commission, has been making waves in the Turkish media and on the streets.
Following the report, Turkish women all over the country stood up against it in novel ways. In Antakya province, women wore white shrouds on May 26 to protest the report, while several college campuses joined in protests by women’s rights groups. Members of the group Mor Cati (Purple Roof) sent a “stigma certificate” to Justice and Development Party (AKP) parliamentarians on the commission. On Twitter, hundreds of critical tweets poured in under the hashtags #BosanmaKomisyonu (Divorce Commission) and #DevletTecavuzcuyleEvlendiriyor (State Forces Marriage with Rapists).
