Medine Memi, may you rest in peace. May you now know a freedom you never experienced in life. May no young girl or woman ever again experience the horror you faced. A link to a Turkish news report here (in Turkish).
The book Batman’da Kadınlar Öluyor (Women in Batman are Dying) is an investigative report by female reporter Müjgan Halis from 2001. She interviews survivors of honor killings and family members in Batman, Turkey. I’m sorry there is no translation of the book nor her profile. Turkish-born female journalist Fazile Zahir‘s article in Asia Times Online also takes a critical look at honor killings masked as suicides.
It is important to me to point to the Turkish women, female reporters and journalists above, and to hopefully add to the list of those who are asking questions and talking about honor killings. That there are female voices here that are not passive, but strong, and that their discourse must be acknowledged for contributing to building a safe place for women worldwide.
In honor of Medine, on February 5 of every year I will hold a memorial, no matter how simple or elaborate. As an artist, a writer, and most of all a woman and mother, I feel immense grief.
