Story By: Feza Uzay, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
A Turkish man who allegedly beat up his wife, who had recently given birth, and cracked her skull open because she wore tights has been freed by a court.
In the vicious attack that occurred in the district of Sultangazi in the Turkish province of Istanbul, Zafer Bozkurt, 44, who works in the textile business, allegedly battered his wife Esra Bozkurt, 22, last week because he was apparently unhappy that she was wearing tights.
Neighbours who heard screaming immediately informed the police and medical teams. The medical teams who came to the flat took Esra, who was covered in blood, to the Basaksehir Cam and Sakura Hospital.
Zafer Bozkurt was taken into custody by the police. Esra, who was treated at the hospital for three days, was discharged on Wednesday, 23rd February.
Zafer Bozkurt was transferred to the courthouse after his first statement was taken at the police station. He was then released on the condition of judicial control.
Describing her fear, Esra said: “I met my husband in the province of Sivas last year and then got married. We have a two-month-old baby. After giving birth, my husband started to have fits of jealousy. He was having arguments with me because I was wearing tights. ‘Don’t wear tights outside’, he’d say.”
She added: “The last time I was subjected to violence, he came home from work and started to tell me something. Then he went to the market, and when he came back, he suddenly attacked me. I don’t remember anything. When I opened my eyes, I was in the hospital.”
Esra, who said that she was threatened and subjected to violence throughout her marriage, said: “He always told me that he would kill my mother and father. Women should be protected from such bad men. He almost killed me. I’m glad I didn’t die. I need financial and moral support.”
Gozde Bayat, Esra’s older sister, said: “The violence started when she was pregnant. He also beat Esra several times after the child was born. Last time, he beat her to kill her. He hit her head with hard objects. Esra’s skull is cracked. We want this person to be arrested and to receive the heaviest punishment. I want my sister to divorce him.”
It is unclear if an investigation was even initiated into the incident.
Femicide is a growing problem in Turkey, particularly after the country officially quit the Istanbul Convention in July last year. According to the 2021 Annual Data Report announced by the ‘We Will Stop Femicide Platform’, 280 women were killed by men in 2021, while 217 women were found suspiciously dead.
According to data from the ‘Monument Counter’, which is a monument established on the Internet to keep alive the memory of the women who died due to violence against women in Turkey and which is updated every day, 62 femicides have taken place since the beginning of 2022.
