On June 20th, Cilem Dogan was released from prison for murdering her husband last July. As reporters and journalists flocked around her, hoping to understand her justification for murder, Dogan put up two thumbs and asked all of them, “Why should women always die?”
Dogan’s story is a sad tale, but not an uncommon one in Turkey. Cilem Dogan was married to an abusive husband who used to deal drugs in Adana. A month after the two got married, he bullied her into prostitution so that they could get more money. After many failed attempts on getting her to go into prostitution, he locked her in their home for three days without food or water.
After three days, she was able to get out with help from her mother. However, when she learned that she was pregnant, she went right back to her husband. Although he did not continue to force her to go into prostitution, he still continued to abuse Cilem Dogan.
In Turkey, the murder of women has skyrocketed. Most of these killers are men who acted out in anger against their wives. Their reasons for committing these murders range from wanting a divorce, refusing to have sex, or even failing to serve them dinner. For defying the social roles they are forced to follow, they have suffered brutality, and even death, from their husbands.
Dogan did not want to suffer the same fate as these other women, so she tried everything to stop him. She tried calling the police, but they never came. Countless calls, begging for someone to save her from this hell she lives in, but no one ever came. It was reported that she tried 9 times to file a protection order.
She continued hoping for the authorities to help, but no one came. When her husband bullied her to go into prostitution again, this time bringing a gun, that was the last straw. She knew no one was going to come to save her, and that she was on her own. So, she did what she had to in order to defend herself.
Cilem Dogan took her husband’s gun that was resting on their bed and killed him.
When she was tried for the murder, she explained that it was a last chance effort to defend herself. The authorities, however, were not convinced. The prosecutor even argued that, instead of killing for self-defense, she should’ve resorted to a different approach, such as changing her identity and having plastic surgery to escape her husband.
On June 8th, Dogan was sentenced to life in prison. Fortunately, the defense appealed the ruling and Dogan was released on bail.
Dogan’s story is one of bravery. Dogan’s story is one of defiance. Dogan’s story is one of many.
Though she is still seen as a criminal in Turkey, many are considering her a hero. Women who have been abused by their husbands also have been begging the authorities for help. When they tell the police that they are being abused by their husbands, they will not show up most of the time. Women in Turkey are sick of the authorities inaction on these domestic crimes, which sometimes lead women to murder their husbands. Cilem Dogan was one of these women, and her claim that self-defense is a legitimate right has gotten the world’s spotlight pointed at her.
Women’s rights activists from around the world are rallying behind her, supporting her and calling out that defense is a legitimate right. During her trials, demonstrators filled the seats to support their hero. Dogan’s mailbox was flooded with letters of support while in jail, praising her for her bravery and thanking her for being a symbol of women everywhere. A petition for her acquittal now has over 100,000 signatures. Even her shirt she was wearing during the day of her arrest now has become a popular symbol in the fight for woman’s suffrage in Turkey. This now famous shirt said, “Dear past, thanks for all the lessons. Dear future, I am ready.”
Though there are many that support Dogan, it is sad that murder has to be the last resort for women who never received help from the authorities. If Turkey wishes to lower the murders happening in their country, the authorities cannot continue to ignore domestic abuse cases and must stand up and help women. Domestic abuse is a severe crime, and inaction against it will only result in the situation in Turkey to worsen.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/06/turkey-women-rights-violence-abusive-husband.html#ixzz4DGWxAssu
