Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan pulled Turkey out of an international accord designed to protect women, the country’s official gazette said on Saturday, despite calls from campaigners who see the pact as key to combating rising domestic violence, Reuters reports.
The Council of Europe accord, forged in Istanbul, pledged to prevent, prosecute and eliminate domestic violence and promote equality. Turkey, which signed the accord in 2011, saw a rise in femicides last year.
No reason was provided for the withdrawal, but officials in Erdogan’s ruling AK Party had said last year the government was considering pulling out amid a row over how to curb growing violence against women.
“The guarantee of women’s rights are the current regulations in our bylaws, primarily our Constitution. Our judicial system is dynamic and strong enough to implement new regulations as needed,” Family, Labour and Social Policies Minister Zehra Zumrut said on Twitter, without providing a reason for the move.
Many conservatives in Turkey say the pact undermines family structures, encouraging violence. They are also hostile to the principle of gender equality in the Istanbul Convention and see it as promoting homosexuality, given its principle of non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.
