Cilem and her tshirt have become internet sensations.
As Çilem Doğan walked – handcuffed and flanked by officers – to the courthouse, accused of shooting her estranged husband six times in the chest, she gave photographers a double thumbs up.
On social media, the 28-year-old Turkish woman is being hailed a hero. The phrase on her t-shirt has become a rallying call.
In a country where, in recent years, violence against women has reached epidemic proportions, she is an icon. A symbol of hope against female oppression.
According to Hurriyet Daily News, Doğan told local police she had “no regrets” over killing her husband, who was forcing her into sex work.
“Will women always die?” Doğan said. “Let some men die too. I killed him for my honour.”
Her 33-year-old husband, Hasan Karabulut, was found dead at the home the divorced couple shared with their daughter last Wednesday.
Doğan was arrested and allegedly confessed to the murder.
“He came home in the morning on the day of the incident. He slept for a short time and then wanted me to prepare his luggage. I asked why. He said we would go to Antalya together and I would become a prostitute,” the woman reportedly told the police.
“When I opposed, he beat me. He pushed me on the bed and the pistol under the pillow came into my mind. I grabbed it and shot him repeatedly. Then I took my daughter and left the home.”
Doğan reportedly claimed she was beaten by her husband even while pregnant and in hospital giving birth to their daughter.
Violence against women in Turkey has skyrocketed since the early 2000s, with the number of women murdered increasing 1,400 per cent between 2002 and 2009.
In 2002, 66 Turkish women fell victim to murder. By 2007, that were more than one thousand women killed annually.
More than 100 women have been killed by men – mostly their relatives – already in Turkey this year.
A reason perhaps why this alleged murderess (she was charged with murder under heavy duress) has become an internet sensation.
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Top Comments
Have to go against everyone here. The account above doesn't scream self defence to me. One shot maybe, but not 6. I'm pretty sure she wasn't thinking of all the other abused women when she decided to shoot her ex. Calling her a hero is just plain wrong.
Personally, I was amazed at her restraint.
Her husband was so 'scary' she lived with him after her divorce, and had her daughter living with him. She's no downtrodden, depressed victim.
I'm a pacifist and I don't believe in capital punishment, however, this woman was protecting herself and her daughter - I can't and don't condemn her, just hope she gets a fair trial.
When will men learn that "enough is enough", if this creep could push his wife into prostitution would he be open to sell his daughter too?