Facing domestic and international criticism over Turkey's skyrocketing murder rate for women, the Turkish government has established a parliamentary commission to investigate violence against women. Intriguingly, on Jan. 29, the commission made headlines in all major newspapers — not with their findings or possible remedies, but with the mind-boggling statements of Ismet Ucma, a deputy from the Justice and Development Party (AKP).
In response to a proposal for mobile panic buttons that women could use to contact police in case of an assault, Ucma told the commission, “We could replace buttons by creating exemplary families. We could foster the concept of neighborhood honor.” Ucma added that neighborhoods could protect their own "honor," which could also be supervised by the Religious Affairs Directorate. This idea, nice as it may seem, sent chills down the spines of Turkish women and rights advocates. In Turkey, the "honor code" is the leading cause of violence against women, and it is well documented that people look the other way when they see a man beating a woman.
