Turkish soap operas increase rapes, AKP MP argues

ANKARA

A ruling party lawmaker has blamed popular Turkish soap operas for the increase in the number of rape cases in the country, arguing that such series were ruining the nature of the Turkish family structure.

“You shoot series and you know no bounds in the relationship between the brother’s wife and uncle. You set no limits, and then you complain about the increase in rape. What were you expecting?  Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind,” İsmet Uçma, a deputy from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and a member of parliament’s commission investigating the reasons for violence against women, said Feb. 18 during a panel meeting.

Uçma has gained recent notoriety for controversial suggestions over social and family order. He suggested the issuance of a “license to marry” for men, days after he stirred controversy by stressing “the honor of the neighborhood.”

“If [domestic violence] occurs between married couples so frequently,” there should be a license for marriage, he said.

Uçma’s criticism toward Turkish TV series comes amid unprecedented outrage over the brutal killing of 20-year-old university student Özgecan Aslan after a failed rape attempt in Mersin last week. 

Uçma said the only way to end violence was to strengthen the family and educate people in line with the putative values of Turkish society.