Bethan McKernan - Challenge accepted: Turkish feminists spell out real meaning of hashtag
Feminists in Turkey
have called on the rest of the world not to forget the original context of
Instagram’s #challengeaccepted trend, which was supposed to draw attention
to
sky-rocketing
rates of gender-based violence in the country before it was co-opted
by western celebrities. Femicide, violence
against women and so-called “honour” killings are deeply rooted issues in
Turkey.
Last week, the country was rocked by the brutal killing of Pınar
Gültekin, a 27-year-old student, who was allegedly killed by an
ex-boyfriend. Campaigners are also
deeply worried about fresh efforts by President Recep
Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling party to repeal a Council of Europe treaty known as
the Istanbul convention, groundbreaking legislation from 2011 that protects
victims of domestic and gender-based violence and effectively prosecutes
offenders.
Marches in four Turkish cities last week
mourning Gültekin’s death and calling on Turkish politicians to uphold
the Istanbul convention were
accompanied by hundreds of thousands of social media posts: one initiative
involved posting photos on Instagram in black and white to emphasise how
pictures of murdered women end up in black and white in the pages of
newspapers....
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/31/challenge-accepted-turkish-feminists-spell-out-real-meaning-of-hashtagMore posts on Turkey
Women's rights
