The Amed Network Against Violence and the Dicle Amed Women’s Platform condemned the killing of 6 women by men across the country in the last 24 hours. Women made a statement in front of AZC Plaza in the Ofis neighborhood of Yenişehir district. A banner reading “Femicide is political” was displayed during the statement.
Adalet Kaya, MP for Amed from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), said: “We have said millions of times that femicides are political. They are the result of the government’s and the state’s policies. Within 24 hours, 6 women were torn from life. These are not just numbers or names. This must now be known and understood. We are very angry.”
Zeynep Sipçik, President of the Rosa Women’s Association, said: “Last year, 294 women were victims of femicide, and 297 women lost their lives under suspicious circumstances. While we are only in the second month of 2026, 6 women have been taken from life in just the last 24 hours. At the root of femicides lies the male-dominated mindset and the climate created by the government’s anti-women policies. Instead of preventing violence, the patriarchal mentality fuels and legitimizes it through rhetoric that targets women’s lives. Of the 6 women killed in the last 24 hours, 3 were in the process of divorce and had obtained state protection orders, yet they were still murdered. The other 3 women were targeted by violence despite being divorced.
When women do not have freedom of expression in their mother tongue and effective translation support while reporting violence, requesting protection, and participating in judicial processes, this effectively eliminates their right to access justice. The language barrier, especially for Kurdish women, leads to violence becoming invisible and deepens impunity.
Policies of impunity and sentence reductions for good behavior do not deter perpetrators of femicide; on the contrary, they embolden them and pave the way for new murders. As women’s organizations, we consider defending women’s right to life our fundamental principle. Until violence ends, we will continue our struggle in the streets, in courthouses, and in every sphere of life.”
Zeynep Sipçik listed the associations’ demands as follows:
“-Policies must be developed to eliminate the gender inequality that lies at the root of violence against women. Concrete and lasting steps must be taken in every field, from education to public policy, based on equality and guaranteeing women’s existence as free and independent individuals.
-Legal regulations protecting women must be implemented urgently and without compromise.
-The “Year of the Family” policies and judicial reform packages that target our acquired rights must be abandoned; Law No. 6284 must be effectively enforced, and there must be an immediate return to the Istanbul Convention.”
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