A heartbreaking silence…

Nineteen days after she went missing, the lifeless body of eight-year-old little Narin was found. From the moment Narin’s disappearance appeared on social media, the wait—which kept everyone who followed the sequence of events day and night awake, pained their consciences, and was sustained by the hope that “perhaps she is still alive”—has unfortunately ended with bad news. What remains are many question marks, suspicions, anger, and a sense of incompleteness regarding the matter. 

The first of many painful questions is: what would have happened if Narin’s disappearance had not reached the public eye, if none of us had heard about it, if no agenda had been created, and if it had not been followed? Would it have been recorded as “an accident” by the family and covered up? As this suspicion gnaws at you, the question of whether there are other young girls who have had bad things happen to them in this way comes to mind one after another. The silence of the village residents and the family reveals the humanity withered by the feudal order and the conscience it has destroyed. The lament of children murdered because of the sins of adults chills one to the bone. We shudder. We shudder at this blind evil, this darkness, this complicity. Even if the feelings we experience have no value compared to a child’s life, it seems impossible to prevent other children from being murdered unless we stifle this evil and tear through this darkness. 

We said that questions and suspicions do not leave one alone… How does a person decide to murder a child in such a small village and dispose of them? It is not hard to imagine that it could go unheard and unnoticed! Was it thought that perhaps other events had been covered up before, so “what does it matter if a new one is added to this communal complicity”? How was Narin’s lifeless body hidden for 19 days? How was it hidden from so many police, gendarmerie, special operations teams, and search and rescue dogs? How did they become such professional killers? Of course, the answers to all these questions and many more are being investigated within the scope of the inquiry. We all sincerely hope that the perpetrators will be found and given the harshest sentences. Yet, living with this darkness and this evil is truly chilling. It is chilling for the sake of our children, for the sake of the future. 

Another point that draws attention within this silence is the invisibility of the only female member of the cabinet, Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş… Yes, I say invisibility because we have not seen the Minister at all during this process. Of course, since it is a judicial case, it is very natural and correct for the Minister of Interior, the Minister of Justice, and the Governor of Diyarbakır to make statements. However, especially since it involves a child and a family-centered tragedy, it was important for the minister responsible for the family to take initiative on this issue and send a message to society. There is only one tweet about Narin on the Ministry’s X account, and two on the Minister’s account. The remaining posts are generally celebrations, messages for special days, condolences, and retweets… They may or may not be working on the issue, but the only thing we know is that they do not want to be visible with their work or communicate this issue through a woman’s perspective and voice…

We can more or less guess what kind of desperation lies behind the silence of the women in the village living under the feudal order. However, it is very difficult to understand Minister Özdemir’s silence. Yet, women who reach such powerful positions are expected to set an example for society with their courage. Unfortunately, we cannot hear or see the woman’s word, with a woman’s perspective and conscience. 

Narin became a victim of lack of education, feudalism, and a distorted order. As Nazım Hikmet said, her life ended inside a sack, with the worthlessness experienced by women and girls who “come after the ox in their place at the table.” This is exactly why the struggle for women’s rights is so important and vital. So that the roses of other Narins do not wither…