More than one in three Turkish women have been domestically abused in their lifetime. Femicides are rising and in 2020, 409 women in Turkey died as a result of domestic violence. It is rare that a woman will survive a case of extreme violence, rarer still that she will see justice. BAFTA-nominated director Chloë Fairweather and CPH:DOX F:ACT-award-winning producer Sinead Kirwan have teamed together on Dying to Divorce, a feature-length film on the fight of one courageous lawyer and two brave survivors for justice.
Kubra was a world famous television presenter known for her work on Bloomberg Turkey. She was attacked by her husband two days after she gave birth to their daughter. She lost the ability to speak and walk and required extensive speech therapy to testify against her husband in court.
Arzu was fourteen when she was married off to a farmer ten years her senior. He fired seven shot gun shells into her at close range when she asked for a divorce; she lost both her legs and the use of her arms as a result of the attack.
Both women need the help of Ipek Bozkurt to fight their cases in court and obtain custody of their children.
Filmed over five years, Dying to Divorce received recognition from the Academy Awards, BIFA Awards, Rose d’Or Awards, and received a BAFTA longlist nomination. It is a shocking film that delves into the systemic violence against women in Turkey and how their abuse is perpetuated by the court and Erdogan himself.
In one case, a husband was given a reduced sentence for killing his wife because she'd allegedly swore at him and provoked him.
As recently as March 2021, President Erdogan signed a presidential decree withdrawing Turkey from the Istanbul Convention. This Council of Europe treaty seeks to end violence against women and to set legally binding standards for the punishment of perpetrators. By withdrawing from the treaty, Erdogan signals that to men in Turkey that they may continue to abuse women with impunity.
Dying to Divorce could be framed as an edge-of-the-seat legal thriller were it not for the fact that it is devastatingly not fictional.
Trailer: Dying to Divorce (2021) - directed by Chloë Fairweather
Dying to Divorce will be broadcast on Sky Documentaries on Wednesday 9 March at 9:00pm.
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