(REUTERS): President Tayyip Erdogan has pulled Turkey out of an international accord designed to protect women, according to the country’s official gazette, despite calls from campaigners who see the pact as key to combating domestic violence.
“The guarantee of women’s rights is the current regulations in our bylaws, primarily our Constitution. Our judicial system is dynamic and strong enough to implement new regulations as needed,” Family, Labour and Social Policies Minister Zehra Zumrut said on Twitter.
No reason was provided for the withdrawal, but officials in Erdogan’s Party had said last year the government was considering pulling out amid a row over how to curb growing violence against women.
The Council of Europe accord pledged to prevent, prosecute and eliminate domestic violence and promote equality. Turkey, which signed the accord in 2011, saw a rise in femicides last year.
Many conservatives in Turkey say the pact undermines family structures, encouraging violence. They are also hostile to the principle of gender equality in the Istanbul Convention and see it as promoting homosexuality.
Turkey is not the first country to move towards ditching the accord. Poland’s highest court scrutinised the pact after a cabinet member said Warsaw should quit the treaty which the nationalist government considers too liberal.
Critics say Erdogan’s government has not done enough to prevent femicides and domestic violence. Turkey does not keep official statistics on femicide. World Health Organization data has shown 38% of women in Turkey are subject to violence.
