Women's associations speak to 12punto! From democratization to authoritarianism: Can Law 6284 be opened for debate?

Melik ÇELİK-12punto.com.tr

During the 21-year AKP government, many new laws and legislative amendments were enacted. Among these were laws concerning women's rights. However, despite these laws, violence against women, in particular, has continued to increase every year.

Responding to 12punto's questions regarding the government's policies on women, Attorney Birsen Baş Topaloğlu emphasizing the equality clause in Article 10 of the Constitution,stated that there is a government that does not believe in the equality of men and women, both politically and ideologically. 

INTERFERENCE WITH ALIMONY RIGHTS

Attorney Baş Topaloğlu emphasized that the government supports women staying at home regarding female employment, and that this impoverishes women. 

Attorney Baş Topaloğlu further stated that the government is legally interfering with women's poverty alimony, adding that issues such as the complete overhaul of family law and the introduction of mandatory mediation are detrimental to women's rights.

"SERIOUS STEPS MUST BE TAKEN TOWARD GENDER EQUALITY"

Stating that having equal rights recognized in laws is not enough to ensure equality when it is not reflected in practice, Attorney Baş Topaloğlu said, "It is the state that is obligated to realize this in practice. Considering that the AKP has been in power since 2002, the AKP's policy on women certainly has an effect on this. The state's obligation does not end with just passing laws. Measures and precautions must also be taken to protect women from violence. For this, most importantly, serious steps must be taken to ensure gender equality, and these steps have not been taken." she said. 

"A PERCEPTION OF IMPUNITY HAS TAKEN ROOT IN SOCIETY"

Attorney Topaloğlu emphasized that the policies within the Istanbul Convention, the most important legal framework for preventing violence, are not being fully implemented from a legal perspective, and that withdrawing from the convention underscoring added the following: 

"With the interventions made to the penal execution law, a perception of impunity has taken root in society, as even if a high sentence is handed down, there is no actual time to be served, or if there is, an amnesty will eventually be issued. Since Law No. 6284, the most important law for preventing violence, is not being fully implemented either, simply issuing a protection order is not enough to stop violence and murders."

6284 IS THE FINAL GUARANTEE FOR WOMEN

Stating that the repeal of Law No. 6284 would mean inviting a rapid increase in femicides, Topaloğlu concluded by saying:

"Existing legal regulations outside of Law No. 6284 are aimed at punishing violence that has already occurred. They are not aimed at preventing violence. The only regulation aimed at preventing violence is Law No. 6284. Many women's lives have been saved through protection orders issued under Law No. 6284, the use of electronic monitoring tags, identity changes, and protection measures. If these decisions had not been made, the number of femicides would be even higher today. Therefore, even the proposal of repealing Law No. 6284 or making legal changes that would render it ineffective is unthinkable. As the Istanbul Bar Association Women's Rights Center, we will stand against any interference with women's hard-won rights and will continue our struggle until gender equality is achieved." 

"STILL RECEIVING SUPPORT FROM WOMEN"

Gülsüm Kav, General Representative of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform,stated that the government's gender policy is based on the "nature " thesis,which posits that men and women have an absolute and unchangeable nature, and that it relies on the pre-acceptance of a form of inequality.

Noting that a significant portion of the AKP's voter base consists of women, Kav continued as follows: 

"It does not neglect social support systems for women. These support systems can transform women. Or, in its early periods, it introduced a kind of era of freedom for women wearing headscarves. Because of this, it still receives support from women."

WHO WAS AFFECTED BY THE WITHDRAWAL FROM THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION?

Gülsüm Kav stated that withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention was a step contrary to preventing violence and continued her assessment as follows:

“Instead of taking preventive and protective measures for women, children, and LGBTQ+ individuals—who are defined in the light of the Istanbul Convention, which best describes the steps that must be taken to prevent violence against women—steps were taken in the opposite direction by withdrawing from the convention.”

CAN LAW NO. 6284 BE OPENED FOR DEBATE?

Reminding that Law No. 6284 was enacted in accordance with the spirit of the Istanbul Convention after it was signed, Kav said: “Law No. 6284 is a law that the AKP government enacted for women during its early period of democratic openings. The AKP was the first to sign the Istanbul Convention and carried out various reforms, such as enacting a protection law in line with its spirit and lifting the headscarf ban. Later, it became clear that they took steps backward from some of these democratization efforts and became more authoritarian; through the alliances it has made, it can even open Law No. 6284, the last right in women's hands, to debate.” she said.

KADEM LEFT QUESTIONS UNANSWERED

To the Women and Democracy Association (KADEM) left questions regarding the government's women's policies unanswered. 

News Source: Melik Çelik