Women rally against domestic violence in Turkey

Ankara, Aug 6:  Thousands of women staged simultaneous rallies across Turkey, urging the country's authorities to take decisive measures against gender-based domestic violence.

In Istanbul on Wednesday, the demonstrators carrying the name tags of the women who were murdered by their male partners or relatives, denounced all kinds of violence against females, including sexual abuse, reports Xinhua news agency.

While police in the city of Izmir i ntervened to stop a rally, dozens chose to start a sit-in protest.According to the women's rights group Nar Women's Solidarity, 10 protesters had been detained.

Similar rallies were also staged in capital Ankara and also in the cities of Adana and Antalya. Women's right groups have been asking the Turkish government to strictly implement the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence.

Turkey was among the first countries which ratified the deal, also known as the Istanbul Convention as it was signed in the city in 2011. However, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government are now considering withdrawing from the deal, arguing that it negatively impacts the structure of Turkish families.

The government is expected to discuss the matter and give its final decision sometime next week. According to We Will Stop Femicides Platform, a rights group that monitors violence against women, 205 women have been killed by their male partners, relatives, or assaulters in Turkey since the beginning of this year. The figure was 417 last year, the data revealed.