"Turkey’s Culture of Violence
Posted on April 15th, 2008 by Jenny White
The murder of Italian artist Pippa Bacca has raised a discussion in the Turkish media of violence in general in Turkey and violence against women in particular. Bacca was hitchhiking across Europe and the Middle East dressed as a bride in a demonstration for world peace and was picked up in Turkey by a truck driver who raped and murdered her. (click for article) While a crime like this can happen anywhere, it also provides an occasion to take a closer look at the particular circumstances of violent behavior in Turkey and its relation to being male and female. In a previous post, I mentioned the glorification of fighting and dying in educational textbooks. Violence is presented as bringing honor to men. Guarding honor is a theme in violence against women (from surveillance and beatings by male relatives all the way to so-called “honor” killings of women who disobey family expectations — or even just appear to), but also in violence by men against other men."
More:Kamil Pasha » Turkey’s Culture of Violence
