ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey has withdrawn from a European treaty protecting women from violence that it was the first country to sign a decade ago and that bears the name of its largest city.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decree early Saturday annulling Turkey’s ratification of the Istanbul Convention is a blow to women’s rights advocates who say the agreement is crucial to combat domestic violence.
Hundreds of women gathered in Istanbul to protests against the move.
Some officials from Erdogan’s Islam-oriented party had advocated a review of the agreement, claiming it is inconsistent with Turkey’s conservative values by encouraging divorce and undermining traditional notions of family.
Advocacy groups say violence against women is on the rise in Turkey.