Turkish Women told: ‘You have dishonoured your family, please kill yourself’

The Independent: “So-called ‘honour killings’ in Turkey have reached record levels. According to government figures, there are more than 200 a year – half of all the murders committed in the country. Now, in a sinister twist, comes the emergence of ‘honour suicides’. The growing phenomenon has been linked to reforms to Turkey’s penal code in 2005. That introduced mandatory life sentences for honour killers, whereas in the past, killers could receive a reduced sentence claiming provocation. Soon after the law was passed, the numbers of female suicides started to rocket.”