According to data released by the We Will Stop Femicide Platform (KCDP), 260 women were murdered in the first 11 months of 2025, while 267 women lost their lives under suspicious circumstances. Most recently, following the adoption of the 11th Judicial Package by parliament last week, more than 50,000 convicted prisoners were released.
One of those released, Okay Gür, murdered Rojda Yakışıklı, whom he had been living with under a religious marriage, just one day after leaving prison. Warning that the new package would increase crimes against women and children, women in Diyarbakır (Amed) said the country was becoming increasingly unsafe for women, stressing the need for self-defence.
The Women’s Platform for Equality (EŞIK) had previously outlined the risks posed by the execution regulation in an earlier statement, said: “We repeatedly conveyed to all responsible authorities that this regulation would threaten women’s right to life. Because women are not being protected, we at least tried to inform them about the urgent measures they could take.”
Women in Diyarbakır reiterated that the regulations do not serve women’s interests, repeating the slogan “We do not want male justice,” and called for a return to the Istanbul Convention as well as comprehensive constitutional reforms.
Insecure spaces are increasing
Ilknur Ayık, Women’s Secretary of the Health and Social Service Workers’ Union Amed Branch (SES), drew attention to the murders that have taken place following the 11th Judicial Package and said: “In just the last three days after the 11th Judicial Package, two women friends of ours were murdered. There will be more, and we do not accept this. These regulations must be changed. Immediate amendments are necessary to prevent further femicides. Because we no longer want to die. We do not want our killers to be released. We want real justice, not male justice.”
Ayık also said that Turkey was becoming increasingly unsafe for women and criticised the declaration of 2025 as the “Year of the Family.” She added: “Turkey is being dragged into an even more insecure environment for women. Although 2025 was declared the ‘Year of the Family,’ it has become a bad year for women. When we talk about the ‘Year of the Family’, we see interventions reaching as far as women’s childbirth choices and clothing. Most recently, there was a religious ruling by the Directorate of Religious Affairs on women’s dresses, and more of these will follow. We do not accept a ‘Year of the Family’ defined in this way.”
Regulations must be made to the package
Ilknur Ayık criticised reconciliation policies imposed on women, saying that complaints were ignored while pressure to reconcile continued: “Despite formal complaints, reconciliation processes are still being enforced. We do not accept this. Today, women are being murdered by their fathers, brothers, husbands, and partners. In response, regulations must be introduced that include real punitive sanctions to protect women. Urgent amendments are needed to the 11th Judicial Package. Women like Rojda must not die anymore.”
Corruption deepens with these packages
Suzan Işbilen, Chair of the Rosa Women’s Association, said that real justice was not being delivered in the country, said: “There is a government in this country that does not want to establish real justice. If justice is not ensured, the entire society, women above all, remains at risk. Over its 23 years in power, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has introduced 11 judicial packages. They have tried to manage this process solely through judicial packages, but it is now very clear that these packages have failed to halt injustice, lawlessness, and the deepening corruption in the country.”
Women were murdered because of the judicial package
Suzan Işbilen stated that warnings previously issued by women’s organisations had come true and said: “The campaign launched by the Women’s Platform for Equality was extremely important. We said, ‘Women, take care of yourselves, women’s killers are being released.’ Unfortunately, we were right. The killers were released, and the first thing that happened was the murder of two women friends of ours. If that judicial package had not existed, those women would be alive today.”
Işbilen also said that the most dangerous place for women is their own homes and added: “In this system, the riskiest space for women is their homes, because they are living with their killers. Men take revenge on women over the slightest pretext. This is not an issue that can be solved through legal regulations alone; it requires policies that fundamentally question masculinity, extending from education to the media.”
No measure possible other than organisation
Dilek Acar, an employee of the Women’s Counselling Centre of Sur Municipality, said that women no longer feel safe. Acar also said: “Under today’s conditions in Turkey, there is almost no measure women can take other than organisation. Yet we see that organisational networks have also been weakened in recent times. At this point, the line of struggle must be strengthened.”
Acar also said that Turkey was being pushed into a deepening state of insecurity for women. She also added: “Women can no longer walk safely on the streets in any province of Turkey. Even our homes are no longer safe.”