Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention with the decision of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Women's organizations applied to the Council of State, the top court, for the annulment of the unlawful decision.

The 10th Chamber of the Council of State announced its decision today. The court rejected the request for the annulment of the decision, saying that "the decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention is constitutional."

Angry women, who came together in Kadıköy with the call of the "We Will Stop Femicide Platform" on July 19, protested the decision of the Council of State.

Translation:

[0:01-0:09]
'We do not recognize the unlawful decision'

[0:19 - 0:41]
Ayşen Ece Kavas, representative of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform, asks women:
– I ask again, friends: Do we give up on equality?
– No!
– Do we give up freedom?
– No!
– Do we give up our rights?
– No!
– Do we give up the Istanbul Convention?
– No!
– Let those who have not heard hear it once again, we will be everywhere in the face of every injustice.

[0:50 - 1:04]
Fidan Ataselim, Secretary General of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform Association:
– We are together once again after the decision of the 10th Chamber of the Council of State. We are here to say once again that we have not given up on the Istanbul Convention.

[1:08 - 1:13]
'We will win by resisting'

[1:18: - 2:30]
Fidan Ataselim, Secretary General of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform Association:
– We meet in these squares every day that the state does not fulfill its responsibilities, every day that it is misogynistic, every day that they spread hatred against LGBTIQ+s, We have to meet. Today we understood this once again, friends. We have to continue to resist and fight. It was possible that the decision would turn out like this. Of course we wish it wasn't like that. We would like to say; Let the Council of State legally uphold the constitution and say that the president as a whole cannot act above the constitution; Let him tell one person, one man, one president, that he cannot do whatever he wants. That didn't happen. Because we are faced with a political decision, friends. The 10th Chamber of the Council of State made a political decision with a majority of votes.

[2:36 - 2:43]
'You will never walk alone'

[2:48 - 3:30]
Fidan Ataselim, Secretary General of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform Association:
– We need to know something critical here, friends. We cannot say that the law is completely dead. We are still strong. If all the judges in the 10th Chamber of the Council of State had signed this decision, if the prosecutors had said 'yes, this decision is appropriate'; That's when we could be pessimistic, saying, 'We're done now'. But we don't need to be pessimistic, friends. At this level, these are the results of what the Presidential System has brought, in an order and regime where one person tries to decide everything. It is nothing else.

[3:30 - 3:40]
'We will win by resisting'

[3:53 - 4:02]
'The Istanbul Convention keeps (women) alive'

This footage was filmed and produced 19 July 2022.

Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention with the decision of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Women's organizations applied to the Council of State, the top court, for the annulment of the unlawful decision.

The 10th Chamber of the Council of State announced its decision today. The court rejected the request for the annulment of the decision, saying that 'the decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention is constitutional'.

Angry women, who came together in Kadıköy with the call of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform, protested the decision of the Council of State by saying, 'We do not recognize the unlawful decision'.

Translation:

[0:01-0:09]
'We do not recognize the unlawful decision'

[0:19 - 0:41]
Ayşen Ece Kavas, representative of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform, asks women:
– I ask again, friends: Do we give up on equality?
– No!
– Do we give up freedom?
– No!
– Do we give up our rights?
– No!
– Do we give up the Istanbul Convention?
– No!
– Let those who have not heard hear it once again, we will be everywhere in the face of every injustice.

[0:50 - 1:04]
Fidan Ataselim, Secretary General of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform Association:
– We are together once again after the decision of the 10th Chamber of the Council of State. We are here to say once again that we have not given up on the Istanbul Convention.

[1:08 - 1:13]
'We will win by resisting'

[1:18: - 2:30]
Fidan Ataselim, Secretary General of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform Association:
– We meet in these squares every day that the state does not fulfill its responsibilities, every day that it is misogynistic, every day that they spread hatred against LGBTIQ+s, We have to meet. Today we understood this once again, friends. We have to continue to resist and fight. It was possible that the decision would turn out like this. Of course we wish it wasn't like that. We would like to say; Let the Council of State legally uphold the constitution and say that the president as a whole cannot act above the constitution; Let him tell one person, one man, one president, that he cannot do whatever he wants. That didn't happen. Because we are faced with a political decision, friends. The 10th Chamber of the Council of State made a political decision with a majority of votes.

[2:36 - 2:43]
'You will never walk alone'

[2:48 - 3:30]
Fidan Ataselim, Secretary General of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform Association:
– We need to know something critical here, friends. We cannot say that the law is completely dead. We are still strong. If all the judges in the 10th Chamber of the Council of State had signed this decision, if the prosecutors had said 'yes, this decision is appropriate'; That's when we could be pessimistic, saying, 'We're done now'. But we don't need to be pessimistic, friends. At this level, these are the results of what the Presidential System has brought, in an order and regime where one person tries to decide everything. It is nothing else.

[3:30 - 3:40]
'We will win by resisting'

[3:53 - 4:02]
'The Istanbul Convention keeps (women) alive'