Istanbul Convention and 'Socially Constructed Gender'

20 April 2021

Many women are expected to play the role of weak creatures in this society. But as we know from countless successful women, including the accomplished daughters of President Erdoğan, this is far from true. These are socially constructed roles, which we should try to fight against if we want to turn Turkey into a better society.

I have been lulled for a long time: Did not know what to think, what to write on anything in Turkey, as all the news we see on TV or papers seemed as part of a perception management campaign and I did not want to make a mistake by constructing any opinion on biased news reports. But there is one issue, that is women’s rights, on which no provocative news report can blur my sight.

The news of Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention wreaked havoc in Turkey, especially among women’s rights activists, lawyers, and any person who is even remotely aware of the violence against women and children rampant in Turkey. Via this midnight Presidential decree withdrawing Turkey from the Convention, claiming that it had been ‘hijacked by the LGBTI+ community,’ the government may believe it has created the turmoil it sought. Like many political commentators, I would have liked to say that the Turkish government wants to create an artificial agenda to cover up its real agenda. However, a ‘violence against women agenda’ is as real as the ‘economic decline agenda’ in Turkey, as the official data clearly shows. For the rest of the article, published on Duvar English on 01 April 2001 and learn more on what Istanbul Convention really means for Turkey, please visit :

https://www.duvarenglish.com/the-istanbul-convention-and-socially-constructed-gender-news-56896