The recent brutal murder of Turkish student Pinar Gultekin ignited outrage in Turkey. Unfortunately, cases like this have been on the rise in Turkey. According to news sources, a total of 474 women were killed in Turkey in last year, a rise of 200 per cent from 2013. It is thought that at least 146 women have been killed in the first six months of this year.

And these numbers are expected to go up by the end of the year due to rising violence arising from the coronavirus lockdown.

Protesters, who had hoped that their actions would cause the government to take action against the widespread domestic violence problem in the country, were instead met with tear gas and rubber bullets.

Activists claim that the Turkish government has done little to support women in the country. This has led to a movement on social media where women upload black-and-white selfies accompanied by the hashtag #womensupportingwomen and the text "challenge accepted", with the aim of supporting and empowering women.

As a teenage girl living in a progressive and safe country such as Singapore, realising that femicide is prevalent in other countries such as Brazil, South Africa, Russia and El Salvador makes me feel sympathetic to other women who are at risk of violence. I hope that the social media challenge leads to more awareness of the brutality against women, which should have been eradicated centuries ago.

Sara Shriram, 16,

International Baccalaureate student

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