’He could have killed us’

In this case, the man upstairs had beaten his wife so badly that he broke her arm when she tried to shield her grown son from further blows, she told me. Her husband had hit his mentally handicapped son in the head, leaving a bloody gash. As they struggled to put their shoes on outside, I heard desperate, breathless voices saying in Turkish, "He could have killed us."

Not long ago, I heard the father below our apartment throwing his daughter into walls and furniture while calling her a whore Ğ and worse. With two small children, she was separated from her husband. The woman from upstairs, smiling as always despite her cast and sling, shrugged and said, "What can I do? Türkiye böyle işte." Turkey’s like this, she said.

Enforcement, for starters
Violence against women exists everywhere in the world. Society can help prevent violence at home by improving the environment that leads to mass migration and failed education. But it’s how authorities deal with the abusers that determines women’s immediate safety. In Turkey, women are left utterly unprotected by an impotent system of law enforcement.

If my neighbors had to do any prison time for beating up their families, wouldn’t the guys around him think twice before risking a similar fate. At least public servants would be protecting people rather than the macho social order.

In Şanlıurfa, a young man was released immediately this week pending trial after he savagely beat a female doctor in a local clinic. Witnesses said he demanded to know why he had to wait while she tended to a woman patient. "Who do you think you are?" he shouted.

After some kids in the Southeast threw stones in the prime minister’s direction this month, the government announced a 42 YTL million plan to stop violence in the region. The plan doesn’t aim to shift the culture of violence; instead it features fairytale parks and football camp. The youths might pocket their stones and cast their first vote for the Justice and Development Party, but to what end?

There are so many different ways to address violence against women that don’t involve women. Barely lifting her head from her notepad of figures, Nihmet Çubukçu, the state minister responsible for women and families, told me that they planned to open 67 women’s centers and some shelters a couple of years ago. I know some shelters: They offer lock down and plenty of space for wife beaters and fathers who’d rather see their "sullied" daughters dead than face the guys at the tea house. A massive change in the cultural mindset is more pressing than deterrents. The ruling and opposition parties could start by adding more than a few females to their candidate lists. Among 3,225 mayors in Turkey, only 18 are female. In the southeastern province of Van, one such woman is shifting the landscape her own way. A couple of years ago, Bostaniçi District Mayor Gülcihan Şimşek signed a deal with the local trade unions to require that a man’s wages be paid to his wife if he is found guilty of beating her. He risks losing his job if the violence persists. Couldn't this be part of a broader policy? Female assembly not required.

Next weekend, check out Koç University’s conference on gender in Taksim. Expert women from across Turkey’s spectrum will discuss violence against women and children, law, participation in politics and the labor force, education and civil society activism. Koç Üniversitesi Anadolu Medeniyetleri Enstitüsü, İstiklal Cad. Nur-i Ziya Sok. No.5 Beyoğlu (0212) 338-1277 http://genderstudies.ku.edu.tr