In this interview with Femena, Turkish women human rights defenders Ezel Buse Sönmezocak, Advocacy Coordinator at Women for Women’s Human Rights (WWHR), and Yıldız Taghızade, Advocacy Officer at WWHR, discuss the situation of women’s rights in Türkiye, the persistent gap between legal protections and their implementation, and the feminist movement’s decades-long struggle against violence against women and femicide.
Ezel reflects on the work of feminist organizations to bring violence against women into the public and political sphere, document femicides, monitor court cases, and challenge justifications for violence based on so-called “honor.” She also discusses Türkiye’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention and its impact on the protection of women and LGBTI people, highlighting how the decision reflected a broader lack of political commitment to gender equality.
Yıldız discusses the growing anti-gender backlash in Türkiye and the ways women’s hard-won rights are increasingly being challenged. She highlights the role of state-supported anti-gender actors and efforts to frame gender equality as a threat to the family and society, while emphasizing the continued resistance of feminist, women’s rights, and LGBTI organizations.
Together, Ezel and Yıldız also reflect on the importance of transnational feminist solidarity and the value of sharing strategies and experiences across the SWANA region, particularly around civil law reform, advocacy, and defending women’s rights against growing anti-gender movements. They emphasize that patriarchal oppression crosses borders, and that feminist resistance and solidarity must do the same.