Child abuse case drags Turkey’s religious sects into public eye
A woman’s claims that she was married at 6 has raised questions about the role of Islamic orders and their influence in the state.
ISTANBUL — Government ministers and opposition leaders in Turkey have spoken out over a woman’s claims that she was married off at the age of 6 in a scandal that has shone a spotlight on the country’s religious sects.
The claims emerged in divorce and criminal proceedings lodged last year by the woman, now 24. She alleges that her father, who heads a foundation linked to the influential Ismailaga community, married her to a 29-year-old sect member as a child and that she was sexually abused by her husband from that age.
