Save Me by Gülsün Yaz Soydan

“Save me”: These were the last words of 25-year-old Canan, mother of two, stabbed to death  in the middle of the street by her husband, whom she tried to get divorced, on January 18, 2022, in  Adıyaman. Just like the other 280 women killed by their husbands, boyfriends, and partners in Turkey  in 2021. 217 women were found suspiciously dead in the same year. We Will Stop Femicide  Platform, is a platform that defines its purpose as to fight against all kinds of violations of women's  rights especially the right to live. Which was established by the efforts of voluntary participants from  the whole society. According to 2021 annual data report of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform,  178 of the women in question were at home, 33 in the middle of the street, 12 in the field, 10 at work,  9 in the car, 6 in the hotel, 2 in the entrance of the apartment, 2 in the park, the others were murdered  in places such as a coal mine, the a barracks, in front of a school, on a minibus, in front of a toilet outside her house, in a law office, in a factory, in a parking lot, in the garden of a health center. 

The number of women killed in a desolate place is only 8. All the other murders were  committed in public, and sometimes even in areas under heightened security. 33 of these women had a  protection order. Therefore, last words of most women murdered were 'save me' as if to express the  indifference of society and official institutions that made their desperation and death inevitable. Every  day in Turkey is like a Monday for some women. Just like in Gabriel García Márquez's book  “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” the murder that will be committed on a normal Monday is known by  everyone, but no one does anything to prevent it. 

Yes, the biggest problem of women in my country is that they are being killed at an increasing  rate. Legal arrangements that will enable women to be accepted as members of society with equal  rights and opportunities with men are often absent or not implemented. Murders against women are  either left unpunished or the penalties to be given to the perpetrators are reduced due to reasons such  as custom, unjust provocation and incomplete investigations. This situation removes the deterrent  effect of the law and the state in order to prevent femicides. We need well established laws and  effective non-sexist practices to prevent femicides. The right to live is a primary human right. All  other rights can be used together with the right to live. The steps to be taken for the protection of  women's right to live and the change that society do show in this direction will facilitate the provision of other rights of women. But it is not enough for women alone to struggle for this. The “save me”  scream that we haven’t heard does not only kill women but also leave the society as an accomplice to  murder.  

Every murder that we have to watch but cannot prevent becomes a reason for our social  inadequacy and exhaustion. It is clear that the murderers, who see women as the enemy to take away  their right to life, are connected with simpler practices and discourses that do not see women as having  equal rights, belittle and trivialize them. This "contempt", which is produced in many areas including 

daily life, cultural practices, discrimination in every place possible, can unfortunately be a reason for  killing for some people. It is necessary to start a fight against "contempt" that has permeated all cells  of society, before the killer decides to commit murder. I want a country and a world where women  don't have to say "save me".

2022, TurkeyLeah Keane