ISTANBUL - Reacting to the approval of the 15-year prison sentence given to Çilem Doğan, who used her self-defense for a living, the women said, ‘’Women should continue to speak up in the face of this sentence and should not leave the streets’’.

 

Çilem Doğan used her self-defense and killed Hasan Karabulut she was married to in 2015 because she was subjected to systematic violence and forced into prostitution by him. Çilem Doğan’s 15-year prison sentence was upheld in the announcing hearing held at the Penal Department No.1 of the Supreme Court on November 4. The reactions against the punishment given to Çilem with the actions of ‘’Self-defense is a right’’ continue.

 

‘We have to defend our lives for not to die’

 

Tülay Korkutan, a member of Kırkyama Women’s Solidarity Association, stated that the men were patted in the back with the 15-year prison sentence given to Çilem Doğan. Tülay reminded that although Çilem applied to various state institutions about the violence she was subjected to, there was no turn to her applications. Türkan said, ‘’Çilem killed someone to save her own life. Women who defend their lives are punished. Nevin Yıldırım was sentenced to life imprisonment and has been in prison for years. That’s why the punishments given to Çilem, Nevin or Ayşe Gökkan actually mean ‘Do what men say, do not raise your voice, don not struggle in the streets’. As in Çilem, Hülya Halaçkay and Yasemin Çakal, women defend their lives. We have to defend our lives for not to die. Women took to the streets in many parts of Turkey to protest the punishment. We will do this not only for Çilem, but also for all women who defend their lives. We will continue to defend our lives, our rights and our freedom. We will continue to struggle despite the punishments and pressure policies imposed on us. We invite all women to stand by Çilem and the women who defend their lives’’.

 

‘Neither the laws nor the state protect us’

 

Esril Bayrak, an independent feminist, stated that the man who would have killed her if Çilem had not used her self-defense and he would have been released with ‘’good conduct time’’ and ‘’incitation’’ discount. She expressed that the decision was a punishment given to a woman’s self-defense. ‘’Self-defense is an undeniable right. The most important thing that ensures the survival of women in this era is self-defense. We are neither protected by laws nor by the state. An unfair punishment that given by the hands of state. We do not accept these punishments. We get a prison sentence for raising our voices. I find the punishments given to women unfair and we will continue to stand against it,’’ Esril said.

 

‘A blow to the women’s struggle’

 

Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK) delegate Ayten Yazıcı, who underlined that they did not accept the punishment given to Çilem as women, said, ‘’Although Çilem had many complaint petitions and reports for batter in the past, nothing was done. She carried out her self-defense due to the fact that she could not get an answer even though she applied to the necessary places forensically and juridically. We do not accept the 15 years prison sentence given by the Supreme Court. We are with Çilem Doğan, we love her and her daughter very much. This decision is a blow to the women’s struggle’’

 

‘Women should know that self-defense is a right’

 

Emphasizing that women should know that they have the right to self-defense, Purple Solidarity member Şevval Barın said, ‘’With this decision, we learned that we should never step back from the streets. Women should continue to raise their voices in the face of this punishment and should not leave the streets. They should not forget that self-defense is always their right’’.