The Istanbul Convention debate erupted, and CHP lawmakers left the committee.

11.03.2025 21:30

During a presentation at the Turkish Grand National Assembly's Research Commission on Violence Against Women and Discrimination, the President of the Republic Women’s Association, Prof. Dr. Tülin Oygür, made remarks regarding the Istanbul Convention, after which CHP (Republican People's Party) members of parliament left the commission meeting.

The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) Committee on Researching Violence Against Women and Discrimination convened under the chairmanship of Deputy Chair Asuman Erdoğan. In the committee, presentations were made by Canan Sarı, Deputy Chair of the Board of Directors of the Women and Democracy Association (KADEM), Zeynep Demir, General Manager of the KADEM Foundation, Nurten Öztürk, Chair of the Women Entrepreneurs Board of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), Ahmet Saygın Laban, Director of Sectors and Entrepreneurship at TOBB, and Prof. Dr. Tülin Oygür, President of the Republican Women’s Association.

"DATA ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN SHOULD BE PUBLISHED IN COOPERATION BETWEEN MINISTRIES AND INSTITUTIONS"

In the KADEM presentation, it was emphasized that the effective implementation of Law No. 6284 is necessary, and it was pointed out that bureaucratic obstacles faced by victims in their application processes should be removed, protection orders should be obtained quickly, and deficiencies in implementation should be addressed. The presentation highlighted the importance of mandatory rehabilitation programs for male perpetrators of violence and stated that to prevent recurring cases of violence, offenders should be subjected to educational and psychosocial support programs under supervised release. It was stated in the presentation that efforts should be made to facilitate victims' access to justice: "The legal aid services of bar associations should be expanded, and it should be ensured that victims of violence can benefit from legal support without interruption," it was said. Zeynep Demir, General Manager of the KADEM Foundation, stated in the presentation, "We believe that the state has a deficiency in publishing data on violence against women in a format similar to inter-ministerial cooperation."

TAŞCI: HOWEVER, THIS WAS A PROCESS THAT COULD TURN INTO REPRESENTATION OF ALL WOMEN FROM REPRESENTATION OF A NEIGHBORHOOD

After the presentation, İYİ Party Member of Parliament Selcan Taşcı took the floor to ask a question, saying, "I thank you for your struggle during the process of the Istanbul Convention, but have you had any self-criticism regarding the subsequent withdrawal? I am curious. Because you are perceived as operating in a comfort zone, but you have become one of the most battered NGOs, and the Istanbul Convention was never mentioned in the presentation. However, this was a process that could turn into representation of all women from representation of a neighborhood," she said.

"AFTER THE TERMINATION OF THE CONVENTION, YOU TOOK A POSITION WITH A JUSTIFICATION THAT YOU BECAME A SUBJECT OF SOCIAL TENSION"

Reminding that KADEM initially rejected the claims that the Istanbul Convention harmed societal morals, Taşcı noted: "You also rejected the claims that it legitimized homosexual orientations. However, you took a position with a justification that you became a subject of social tension after the termination of the convention. However, the text of the convention is the same. There is not a single line of difference between the text you defended and the current text. At the very beginning, when you described your mission and vision, you said that a woman should exist with dignity, or that a woman should be part of decision-making mechanisms. Even if all your other justifications remain hidden, shouldn't you take a clearer position just to preserve the honor of the struggle you gave that day? You mentioned being part of decision-making mechanisms. At the end of the day, others made the decision. In other words, despite our righteousness and the correctness of our theses, we could not change that decision. Many women who said 'The Istanbul Convention saves lives' are still accused of immorality today. They are accused of many other things. They are accused of targeting the value judgments of society. At least, shouldn't you continue to say something today to be part of the struggle of those women?"

"THE TERMINATION OF THE CONVENTION DOES NOT AFFECT INTERNAL IMPLEMENTATION"

Canan Sarı, Deputy Chair of the Board of Directors of KADEM, stated that she wanted to respond to İYİ Party's Taşcı as a lawyer, saying, "The Istanbul Convention was a very important convention. It was a text that pioneered the establishment of relevant institutions in the fight against violence against women and the creation of legal texts. However, the termination of the Convention does not affect internal implementation. Because no court conducts trials because it acted contrary to the Istanbul Convention. It makes decisions based on the provisions of Law No. 6284," she said.

"WHEN WE LOOK AT THE TRIALS, WE SEE THAT NO STEP BACK HAS BEEN TAKEN IN THE FIGHT AGAINST VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN"

Sarı, stating, "The convention may have been terminated, but our goal is not to beat the grape but to eat it," added: "In other words, we are working to protect women who have been subjected to violence from violence, ensuring that no one, whether a child, family, or woman, is subjected to violence. Therefore, there are also beautiful regulations brought by the Istanbul Convention that we could not transfer to our internal law. What is this? For example, there was GREVIO there, GREVIO was reporting. Ultimately, it cannot be forced. No party, no signatory country can say 'I am leaving today' from any convention. But these things in the pioneering reports are important for us to see ourselves, and for the fight against violence against women to be viewed from different perspectives in our country. Legal texts alone do not protect; what is important is that the mentality they bring is established in legal texts, public institutions, NGOs, and among the public. I believe that this understanding has been established. When we look at the trials, we see that no step back has been taken in the fight against violence against women in the courts. Of course, there are application errors."

SARI: IT WOULD NOT BE RIGHT FOR ME TO RESPOND IN A PLACE WITH SO MANY DEPUTIES UNDER THE ROOF OF THE ASSEMBLY

In response to Sarı's answer, Taşcı asked, "I did not ask a legal question. If a legal dimension needs to be developed, do you find it correct for an agreement accepted with the approval of the Assembly to be terminated solely by the decision of the President?" Sarı replied, "It would not be right for me to respond in a place with so many deputies under the roof of the Assembly." Sarı, referring to the establishment of a female-dominated management in the committee, said, "I actually think it would have been more efficient if equality had been ensured here."

ERDOĞAN: EVEN THE FACT THAT OUR CHAIRMAN IS A MAN CAUSED A LOT OF DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS AT THE BEGINNING

Committee Deputy Chair Erdoğan stated, "In fact, the fact that our chairman is a man caused a lot of different interpretations at the beginning, but he could not come today due to his discomfort. I think like you. I really think both sides should be present. Actually, there was such a distribution," she said.

PROF. DR. OYGÜR: THE REMOVAL OF THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION HAS BEEN GOOD FOR THE COUNTRY

Prof. Dr. Oygür, President of the Republican Women’s Association, stated after her presentation that she had an objection to Deputy Chair Erdoğan, noting that the topics of the Istanbul Convention, LGBT, and gender were discussed throughout the committee. Oygür said, "I have been subjected to a kind of violence by being silenced here."

"The abolition of the Istanbul Convention has been good for the country," he said. After CHP deputies Ersever and Coşar and DEM Party Deputy Adalet Kaya opposed these words, Oygür responded, "I listened to you. You will listen to me too; I am not giving orders or anything." Deputies Ersever and Coşar, who stated that Prof. Oygür used an imperative tone, left the committee.

"OUR STATE HAS NOT ACTUALLY WITHDRAWN FROM THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION; OUR STATE HAS THROWN AWAY THE GREVIO REPORT"

Oygür noted: "The convention begins with the historical context of violence against women, but it is filled with gender equality. Now we will say, 'What is the harm here, gender equality is so beautiful.' No. Is this due to ignorance? Is it intentional? We cannot understand this. Gender equality rejects biological sex, expresses that gender is assigned at birth, and argues that gender is acquired as an ideological style or form in life; this is the foundation of queer theory and the basis of LGBT. Our state has not actually withdrawn from the Istanbul Convention. Our state has thrown away the GREVIO Report." After the discussions, the Deputy Chair of the Committee, Asuman Erdoğan, stated that the committee had concluded.