BDP puts blame on Turkish Gov’t for violence

ANKARA

'If the prime minister has the ability to change and lead society, then let him take a stance against violence against women,' BDP co-chair Gültan Kışanak says. DHA photo

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is responsible for every woman’s murder due to its sexist rhetoric, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-chair Gültan Kışanak has said.

“There’s a political party [AKP] dominated by the male mentality that tells women what to wear and how many children to have. All of these efforts represent fundamentalism. They are attempting to justify their fundamentalist morals by using people’s values,” Kışanak said on Nov. 26 during her party’s parliamentary group meeting.

“This manner of politics corresponds to violence against women. All women should struggle against this mentality, which aims to confine women to the house,” she added.

The BDP co-chair devoted almost her whole speech to violence against women on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on Nov. 25.

Recent public debate over mixed-sex student accommodation, which was sparked after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan voiced his intention to intrude in such abodes, is unacceptable as it is against people’s freedoms, Kışanak said.

“The AKP intends to be the ‘morality police party.’ Why have they become a guardian of morals? A political party that has lots of polygamist men in its ranks does not have the right to control the lifestyle of other people,” she added.

Kışanak also criticized Erdoğan’s suggestion for every Turkish couple to have at least three children. “He always instructs women to have three children. If the prime minister has the ability to change and lead society, then let him take a stance against violence against women,” she said.