Turkey: Targeting Authors Writing About Child Abuse? The CFWIJ Requests Authorities To Reconsider This Move
Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: June 12, 2019Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
Turkish novelists Elif Shafak and Ayşe Kulin under investigation for 'supporting' child abuse in their novels. Internationally-known writer and academic Elif Shafak and novelists Ayşe Kulin are under investigation for allegedly supporting child abuse in their novels “Mahrem” and “Gece Sesleri”.
The investigation came out just after another male writer Abdullah Şevki was taken into custody, He narrated a scene describing child abuse openly in his book “Zümrüt Apartmanı”. Though he has been released by the authorities, Elif and Ayşe are still under investigation due to social media campaigns against them, accusing them of being pedophilia supporters.
We, at the Coalition For Women In Journalism, spoke to Ayşe who told us that this issue surfaced over “just one paragraph out of a 300 page novel... I don’t know who started it.”
Elif, who has been an activist on women and human rights herself, said, “Anything that has any passage on sexual abuse of children in Turkish literature, they want to investigate it. This is a very new focus for them. And, of course, the irony is that this is a country in which we have an escalating number of cases of sexual violence against both women and children. Turkish courts are not taking action, the laws have not been changed. So in a country where they need to take urgent action to deal with sexual violence, instead they’re prosecuting writers. It’s the biggest tragedy. It has become like a witch-hunt,” as reported by The Guardian.
International audiences and committees regard the investigation against the novelists another threat for freedom of speech in Turkey.
After the failed coup attempt in 2016, freedom of speech and independent media in Turkey have been under attack.
According to a report released by the Turkey Journalists Union, as of May 2019, 136 journalists were in prison, 15 of which female journalists working for Turkish and Kurdish media.
Many more are in living in self-exile.The Coalition For Women In Journalism regards this investigation as a threat to free speech.
“We cannot accept silence as fate for a country, whether it is imposed against writers, activists, or journalists. We know that women writers often tend to dive deeper into subjects that are most sensitive to society. The Coalition For Women In Journalism, will stand to defend their right to write,” said Kiran Nazish, the Founding Director of CFWIJ.
ICFWIJ's Turkey Coordinator Nida Karra added, “We, at the CFWIJ, urge the authorities in Turkey to take action for the sake of freedom and release the journalists in prisons, some of whom have been there for more than a year.”
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The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world, and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
Follow us on Instagram @womeninjournalism and Twitter @CFWIJ. Our website is WomenInJournalism.org and we can be reached at press@womeninjournalism.org
The Coalition For Women In Journalism closely monitors the incidents in Turkey with great concern. Since March 8, Women's Day, police violence against women journalists increasingly continues in the country. As the coalition, we urge the Turkish state to provide a free environment for journalists. Following the news is our most fundamental democratic right to report. We demand the immediate release of our detained colleagues. Journalism is not a crime. Journalism cannot be prevented.
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