Turkey failed to meet Istanbul Convention’s requirements: Main opposition CHP MP

Rifat Başaran - ANKARA

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker Gülsün Bilgehan has criticized Turkey’s record on women’s rights with a report on the third anniversary of the Istanbul Convention. 

“The Council of Europe is to make a warning to countries to implement the Istanbul Convention effectively in a report to be published in 2018. Turkey is among the countries with the highest number of child marriages,” Bilgehan, also a Council of Europe parliamentarian, stated in her report on July 30. 

The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, known as the Istanbul Convention, entered into force in Turkey on Aug. 1, 2014. 

“Turkey has been experiencing problems with implementing preventative measures against underage marriages, which have been brought to the agenda recently as religious offices are slated to be authorized to conduct marriages with the latest draft law,” Bilgehan said.   

“Article 37 of the convention states ‘parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the intentional conduct of forcing an adult or a child into marriage is criminalized,’” the report said. 


Violence against women in public places

Bilgehan reiterated the importance of the Istanbul Convention, noting that it had become pressing to implement the convention’s requirements in the wake of recent attacks against women on public transport over the way they dressed. 

“The Istanbul Convention requires taking clear-cut measures on the subject. Article 4 states ‘parties should take necessary legislative and other measures to promote and protect the right for everyone, particularly women, to live free from violence in both the public and the private sphere,’” the report said.