Turkish Women Advised To "Stay Home" If They Don't Want To Be Sexually Harassed

It’s something I’ve thought about before, actually. This Turkish Mayor just had the nerve to say it aloud:

“Do not walk around, sit in your homes,” 71-year-old Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Mayor Necmittin Dede recently told Muş representatives of the Women’s Center, or KAMER, when they told authorities that high unemployment in the city had resulted in men spilling out of the overcrowded teahouses in the area to verbally harass female passersby.

Well, that’s a simple solution. So, as long as women stay locked inside their homes they won’t be harassed — and more importantly, law enforcement won’t have to hear them complain about it anymore. That sounds like a perfectly reasonable plan to me!

I can’t even remember why we started letting women leave the house in the first place, but clearly nothing good has come of it!

PLUS, women like to clean and stuff and all of their cleaning supplies are typically indoors so they can be near those ALL. THE. TIME!

AND men won’t have to suffer through the difficult and time-consuming task of seeing a woman and having to force themselves to not sexually harass her. Everyone wins!

KAMER representatives said they had enjoyed success in cooperating with local police on women’s issues, but added that public institutions, such as the one led by the mayor, remained indifferent to their cause.

“We have appealed to the authorities time and time again, yet they do not allow us into the schools to conduct training sessions about women. So we visit households instead. We conducted surveys in 700 households until now that show the rate of domestic violence stands around 70 percent,” said Necmiye Boz of KAMER.

Hmm. I guess “domestic violence” sort of throws a wrench into the whole “lock them away in their homes” plan. Golly, I wonder why there is so much domestic violence in a city where the Mayor is so caring and compassionate toward women?

Well, certainly there’s a place women can go if they want a break from the non-stop violence that seems to surround them every second of their lives…right?

Of course there is!

It’s a women’s shelter…with a large sign out front…where “potential attackers” can find them. Sounds heavenly:

Muş municipality does maintain a women’s shelter in the area – although the building is prominently identified by a large sign, allowing potential attackers to find women seeking refuge in the building.

Local police have made some effort to combat domestic violence by releasing a report titled “Survey Report on Cases of Domestic Violence” and putting up billboards to raise awareness of women’s issues. But most of the work is being done by the good people at KAMER:

KAMER was officially founded in 1997 and continued to grow and strengthen itself in the following years. At the moment, the group is trying to expand its activities in 23 provinces of eastern and southeastern Anatolia to more districts, villages and remote areas.

Since 1984, thousands of women have joined the group, which advocates for and extends aid to victims who face attack, arrest, torture and even death around Turkey.

The group also aims to provide analysis on the people who are convicted of beating, stabbing or raping women.

Turkish mayor advises women to ‘stay home’ to avoid harassment [Hurriyet Daily News]