Woman dies after being set on fire by man in latest femicide

ORDU

Yet another woman has been murdered in Turkey when she succumbed to severe injuries after being set on fire by a man who she reportedly lived with in the Black Sea province of Ordu’s Fatsa district.  

The man, Soner Durgun, 22, poured fuel on Merve Yeşiltaş, 31, and set her alight after they reportedly had an argument on Aug. 10. The two were living together, according to local media reports.  

Durgun later set himself ablaze too and is now in critical condition in a hospital.

The two were taken to hospital after their neighbors notified the fire to the authorities.  

Yeşiltaş’s murder comes after 235 women were killed by men in Turkey this year.
Some 235 women were murdered this year so far, according to Anıt Sayaç, an online epitaph of all women murdered by men in the country.

Femicides in Turkey have become an epidemic which feminist groups say is not fought against adequately.

Women’s rights groups and feminists are demanding the Istanbul Convention, a Council of Europe treaty that obligates member states to fight violence against women, be fully implemented amid debates that Turkey could withdraw from it.
In a country where hundreds of women get killed every year, debates on whether the country should withdraw from the convention are unacceptable, the groups have said.  

Yeşiltaş’s name was a top trending topic on Twitter on Aug. 11, with tens of thousands tweeting in anger at femicides which have become a daily reality in the country.

“I’m now scared to click on the name of a woman on the [trending topic] TT list [on Twitter]…” said one prominent

Twitter user, referring to names of murdered women that often appear on Twitter’s trending topic list.