Women on the protest argue that violence
against women has become more acceptable in Turkey in recent years
Selin Girit
By Selin Girit
BBC News, Istanbul
Thousands
of women in Turkey have protested at the murder of a young woman who allegedly
resisted an attempt by a bus driver to rape her.
Police
discovered the burnt body of Ozgecan Aslan, 20, in a riverbed in the city of
Mersin, on Friday.
They
have arrested three men in connection with her death - a minibus driver, his
father and a friend.
The
Turkish president and prime minister called Ms Aslan's family to offer their
condolences.
Prime
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu promised the family to hunt those responsible for the
crime and punish them.
Ms
Aslan, a psychology student, was kidnapped on Wednesday on her way home.
The
driver allegedly tried to rape her. She reportedly fought him off with pepper
spray, but was then stabbed to death. She was also hit on the head with an iron
pipe.
The
brutality of the murder caused an outcry across Turkey.
Thousands
of women staged protests in several cities on Saturday, including Ankara,
Istanbul, and Mersin - Ms Aslan's hometown in southern Turkey.
In
Istanbul, women activists held two separate protests to show their anger at the
murder.
During
the day, hundreds gathered behind a banner that read "Enough, we will stop
the murder of women!"
In
the evening, the crowd got bigger. Thousands of women of all ages and walks of
life poured out to the streets.
A
young woman, Bulay Dogan, said Ms Aslan's murder scared her.
"I'm
afraid, because the same thing could happen to me or my friends. But on the
other hand, I'm furious too. How can they [the murder suspects] be so reckless
to do something like this?" she asked.
Also
on the protests was a gender studies academic who would only give her first
name, Zeynep. She thought Ms Aslan's murder was of a political nature too.
"It
is the result of the radical Islamic atmosphere created by the government. The
men say that women should be conservative. They think if they are not
conservative, they deserve this kind of violence," she said.
'Soaring
violence'
The
ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has its roots in political Islam and
has been in power since 2002.
Women's
rights organisations say violence against women has risen sharply in the last
decade.
Last
year alone, almost 300 women were killed at the hands of men and more than 100
were raped, according to local reports.
Sevda
Bayramoglu from Women for Peace Initiative demanded new legislation to protect
women from violence.
"Men
kill and rape and torture women. The state, the 'men's state', is protecting
them. We expect the parliament to stop this violence," she said.
Ms
Aslan's murder may become a rallying cause for activists seeking to end
violence against women in Turkey.
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