JINHA

ISTANBUL – There were at least 21 femicides in Turkey in May, with Istanbul and Ankara leading the way for the number of femicides in the country, according to statistics gathered by the Socialist Women's Assemblies (SKM).

In April, 12 women were driven to suicide in Turkey and 24 were killed by men. In May, 21 women were killed by men. This makes for a total of 45 women killed by male attackers during the last two months—which coincided with the lead up to Turkey's Parliamentary election.

With the ruling AKP's elections propaganda campaign is suffused with anti-woman sentiments, the two months of the Turkey's elections campaign were brutal ones for women, said the SKM. They noted that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's anti-woman remarks have intensified the massacre of women in the country. The President has said that "women are not equal with men; it's not in their nature."

Most recently, the President called a group of women passively protesting his presence "immoral" and "impudent." Given that much male violence in Turkey is justified by the need to "discipline" women or "teach them a lesson," the language incited violence against women.

(fk/cm)