어린이 미성년자 성학대 논란의 중심에 선 터키 정부 VIDEO: How an Extremist Government Treats Girls and Women
How an Extremist Government Treats Girls and Women
by Uzay Bulut
October 8, 2018 at 5:00 am
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13051/turkey-child-marriages-pregnancies
The scandal of the underage girls who gave birth was covered up by the administration of the hospital. They failed to inform either the police or judicial officials -- even though they are obligated to do so by law and regulations when they discover a minor is pregnant or has been subjected to sexual abuse.
Sexual abuse against children in Turkey increased by 700% in the 10 years to 2017, according to the Diyarbakir Bar Association. 440,000 children under the age of 18 have given birth since 2002, according to Turkey's Human Rights Association. (Image source: iStock)
어린이 미성년자 성학대 논란의 중심에 선 터키 정부 18세 미만 아동 44만 명이 성학대 대상 병원, 국가 행정부 등에 의해 은폐 아이를 낳은 미성년자 소녀들의 스캔들은 병원, 국가 행정부 등에 의해 은폐되었다. 그들은 비록 미성년자가 임신했거나 성적 학대에 대해 법과 규정에 의해 처리했어야 할 의무가 있음에도 불구하고 경찰이나 사법 당국에 알리지 않았다. 대신에, 이 스캔들을 폭로한 사회복지사인 Iclal Nergiz는 병원과 정부에 의해 박해를 받았으며 그녀에 대한 조사가 시작되었다. (사진설명) 디야르바키르 바 협회에 따르면 터키 어린이들에 대한 성학대는 10년 동안 2017년까지 700%나 증가했다. 터키의 인권 협회는 터키의 아동 인권 침해에 대한 소름끼치는 보고서를 발표했다. "2002년 이후 태어난 18세 미만 아동 44만 명이 성학대 대상이었다" "터키에서의 결혼 4건 중 1건은 아동의 결혼이다."라고 앙카라에 본사를 둔 플라잉 브룸 여성 커뮤니케이션 연구 협회의 회원인 셀렌 도단이 전했다.
"나는 아이 신부였다"고 시위하는 터키 여성들/The Guardian 터키 시민법에 따르면, 남성과 여성은 18세가 되기 전에 결혼할 수 없게 되어 있다. "18세가 되기 전에 결혼할 수 있도록 하는 몇 가지 예외는 있다. 17세에게는 부모의 동의나 법적 보호자의 동의를 얻어 결혼이 허용될 수 있으며, 16세에게는 법원 판결과 부모의 동의를 얻어 결혼을 할 수 있다." 그럼에도 불구하고, IHD 아동 인권 위원회의 회원인 Zelal Coshkun은 최근 아동 결혼이 증가하고 있다고 말했다. "자료에 따르면, 지난 10년 동안 482,908명의 여자아이들이 국가의 허락을 받아 결혼했다. 지난 6년 동안 142,298명이 엄마가 되었고 대부분은 종교적인 의식에서 결혼을 했다." 이러한 학대행위는 세계의 많은 지역에서 일어나지만, 이슬람 사회에서는 미성년자 결혼이 사회적으로 매우 관대한 편이다. 그 어떤 경우에는 가해자들은 정부에 의해 보호받는다. 이슬람의 코란은 조혼을 장려하고 있다 또한 이는 아동 결혼과 미성년자 어머니들을 포함한 학대 행위를 정상화하는 데 사용되는 것 같다. 안타깝게도 이런 결혼 관행은 오래오래 지속되고 있다. "터키를 파괴하는 수치스러운 목록들" 이스탄불 병원에서 막 출산한 115명의 미성년자 출산자들 이름이 실린 터키 신문 휴리예트(Huriyet)의 기사 제목이다.
더욱이, 그 추문은 병원 행정부에 의해 은폐되었으며. 그들은 비록 미성년자가 임신했거나 성적 학대를 받은 것을 발견했을 때 법과 규정에 의해 그렇게 해야 할 의무가 있음에도 불구하고 경찰이나 사법 당국자들에게 알리지 않았다. 황기철 콘페이퍼 에디터 큐레이터 Ki Cheol Hwang, conpaper editor, curator |
edited by kcontents
Instead, the social worker who exposed the scandal, Iclal Nergiz, has been persecuted by the hospital and other authorities. An investigation has been launched against her.
Turkey's Human Rights Association (IHD) has issued a chilling report about children's rights abuses in Turkey. According to it, "since 2002, under the AKP [Justice and Development Party] rule, 440,000 children under the age of 18 have given birth."
"One in every four marriage in Turkey is a child marriage," said Selen Doğan, a member of Ankara-based Flying Broom Women's Communication and Research Association.
According to the Turkish Civil Code, men and women cannot marry before they turn 18.
"There are only a few exceptions that allow someone to marry before turning 18. A 17-year-old person may be granted permission to be married with the consent of his/her parents or legal guardian; and a 16-year-old person may be granted permission to be married by a court decision and with the consent of his/her parents or legal guardian."
Nonetheless, Zelal Coşkun, a member of the Children's Rights Commission of the IHD, said that child marriages have been on the rise in recent years:
"According to the data of TÜİK [Turkish Statistical Institute], in the last 10 years, 482,908 [underage] girls have been married off with the permission of the state. In the last six years, 142,298 have become mothers and most got married in religious [Islamic] ceremonies."
These abusive acts take place in many parts of the world, but in Muslim societies the practice of underage marriages is warmly tolerated by many; in some instances, the perpetrators are protected by the authorities. That Islamic scriptures encourage early marriages -- for girls as young as nine -- also seems to be used to normalize abusive acts, including child marriages and underage mothers. Sadly, the practice of child marriages, a long-lasting tradition in Muslim communities, has a theological basis. Muhammad, the founder of Islam, married Aisha when she was six and consummated his marriage with her when she was nine. He was 54 years old. The Koran also advocates the practice.
"A List of Shame That Will Shatter Turkey," is the title of a report published by the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet, which includes the names of 115 underage girls who gave birth at just one Istanbul hospital, Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Education and Research Hospital, during just five months in 2017.
Worse, the scandal was covered up by the administration of the hospital. They failed to inform either the police or judicial officials -- even though they are obligated to do so by law and regulations when they discover a minor is pregnant or has been subjected to sexual abuse.
Instead, the social worker who exposed the scandal, Iclal Nergiz, has been persecuted by the hospital and other authorities. An investigation has been launched against her, her place of work has been changed twice and she has been exposed to heavy pressure and harassment. "Ever since the incident was exposed, nothing has changed except for my punishment [by the hospital]," Nergiz said in one interview.
"The hospital officials think that I have betrayed the country and that I have destroyed the image of the hospital! I am exposed to a policy of oppression and intimidation." Nergiz said in another interview.
The scandal came to light when Nergiz noticed that the files of a 17-year-old pregnant girl and the notification that had to be submitted to the police were both missing from the hospital records. She then sought help from the hospital administration and prosecutors.
"I noticed that a lot of pregnant adolescents, 15-year-olds, 16-year-olds, 18-year-olds, came to the hospital. Some were pregnant with their second child. Almost all had come to our hospital previously... But they were not reported to anyone for years.
"...These children are said to be married with an imam marriage. I would not call that a marriage. What matters is official marriage. And these kids are not officially married... I saw a 16-year-old Syrian kid who was pregnant with her second child. She gave birth to her first child when she was 12. I cannot forget her."
Nergiz also says:
"About 250 pregnant girls under age 18 were treated at the hospital over a period of five months and nine days. I realized the cases of 115 of these girls were not reported to police. Nor were they recorded in the protocols of the hospital police.
"...Every year, around 450 to 500 pregnant girls are taken to this hospital... There is not a single door I did not knock on at the hospital concerning these 115 children. But I ended up being marginalized."
According to Turkish law, people below the age of 18 are regarded as children. However, Nergiz says:
"... according to the hospital administration and the governor, they are not [children]... They do not report pregnant minors to anywhere. Because they do not care. That is why, the situation is so dire. To them, it is just normal. When I talk about 115 pregnant children, it is an optimistic number. There are doctors who do not even report child pregnancies to the social services unit. So, the real number is so much higher."
The first court hearing that involved those who did not inform the judiciary about the scandal took place on June 25.
Akif Akça, the deputy head physician, and Nazlıcan Dilber, a social services expert, who are on trial for covering up child pregnancies, testified. They both rejected accusations that the presence of pregnant girls in the hospital was not reported to authorities: "Procedures were carried out according to the instructions of the Ministry of Health and there has been no negligence."
At the conclusion of the first hearing, the court lifted the ban on international travel that had been imposed on Akça and Dilber. They are now free to leave Turkey. The court also informed the two that they are not required to attend future hearings in the case.
A totally different ruling, however, was issued concerning Nergiz, who exposed the scandal. Although she did not appear at the first court hearing, as she is the one who exposed the scandal and lodged a complaint with prosecutors, the judge decided that Nergiz must attend the next hearing.
The reality she helped expose in that hospital is the reality of the entire country, Nergiz said. "The situation is the same all across Turkey. Moreover, what was exposed in that hospital is just the tip of the iceberg."
How many of these girls were already married when they arrived at the hospital to give birth and at what age did they get married? Or were they sexually abused out of wedlock? How many were later forced to marry their abusers? What happened to their babies? How many other children in Turkey are victims of similar abuses? It seems these questions will remain unanswered.
What is known is that child marriages, child rape, girls who become mothers although they themselves are still children, and other types of child sexual abuse are increasingly commonplace in Turkey.
"Turkey is the country that has the highest number of child marriages in Europe," stated a 2016 report by the Prevention of Violence and Rehabilitation Organization and the Crime and Violence Practice and Research Center by Istanbul's Acıbadem University. "But as religious [imam] marriages are widespread, it has not been possible to detect the real number of child marriages in Turkey." The report also detailed the terrible medical, psychological and social effects of child pregnancies on both underage mothers and their babies.
Hürriyet Daily News
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Sexual abuse against children in Turkey increased by 700% in the 10 years to 2017, according to the Diyarbakir Bar Association.
"According to the 2015 Turkey report by the organization ECPAT (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking), children are the group that is exposed to sexual violence the most in Turkey," Zelal Coşkun, a member of the Children's Rights Commission of the IHD, said at a symposium in Istanbul.
Coşkun emphasized that due to early marriages, many girls remain uneducated and unemployed:
"In Turkey, the net schooling rates of women are below those of men at all levels except for distance education. The number of girls who continue middle school after primary school are getting increasingly lower.
"According to the data of the Ministry of National Education, 97.4% of those who cannot continue their education due to child marriages and engagements are girls."
Although the legal system of Turkey is not yet based on Islamic sharia law, Islamic teachings and traditions still largely shape the thinking and behavior of many people -- including their views of child marriage and child abuse. The greatest victims of the Islamization of societies still seem to be girls and women.
Uzay Bulut, a journalist from Turkey, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute. She is currently based in Washington D.C.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13051/turkey-child-marriages-pregnancies
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