In Turkey, women and children face systematic neglect in the face of sexual abuse and domestic violence. Inadequate protection mechanisms, delays in judicial processes and social pressures often lead victims to dead ends in their search for justice. The case centered on allegations of sexual abuse against the daughter of Ayhan Şengüler, the director of the Qur'an Service Foundation, has become one of the most striking and shameful examples of this painful reality.
Fatma Nur Çelik has documented the abuse her daughter has been subjected to since the age of 3 with medical reports and concrete evidence in her years-long struggle. Stating that she herself was subjected to similar violence as a child and was forced to marry the perpetrator, Çelik started a vigil for justice in front of the Anatolian Courthouse after the defendant was tried without remand. During this process, she shared with the public the economic difficulties, allegations of threats and the heavy psychological burden. Her particularly striking statement was this: “If something happens to me, don't say suicide.” This statement directly reflected the deep fear, loneliness and helplessness she was experiencing.
On the evening of March 3, 2026, the lifeless bodies of mother Fatma Nur Çelik (30) and her 8-year-old daughter Hifa İkra Şengüler were found on Istanbul's Zeytinburnu Kazlıçeşme beach. Although the nature of the incident has not yet been confirmed, Çelik's prior warning strongly raised the suspicion of foul play. The trauma she has been carrying for years, the fact that her requests for protection were not met, and the fruitless search for justice stand out as the key elements of this tragedy.
This case reflects the widespread nature of femicide and child abuse cases in the country. Lack of effective implementation of protection orders, delays in investigations, isolation of victims and inadequate evaluation of evidence pave the way for similar incidents to recur. Child victims of abuse and the mothers who try to defend them face life-threatening situations without adequate security and support.
This tragedy painfully demonstrates once again how indispensable secularism, the founding principle of the Republic, is. Secularism means that the state protects every individual equally, independent of all faith groups and sects, that the judiciary is based on scientific and impartial foundations, and that the rights of women and children are not surrendered to any religious structure or interpretation. The negligence, impunity and lack of protection observed in cult-related cases are direct consequences of the erosion of the secular legal order. Women's and children's safety can only be ensured within an egalitarian, secular and republican framework in which the state protects freedom of religion and conscience while not privileging any faith community.
As March 8th International Working Women's Day approaches, this incident reminds us once again: The rights of women and children can only be protected through swift, fair and effective judicial processes; strong protection mechanisms; social sensitivity and a resolute attitude against violence. Preventing femicides and child abuse requires a collective responsibility beyond individual efforts and a fundamental system change.
In this painful time, there is no other way to make Fatma Nur Çelik's voice heard and to prevent similar tragedies from happening again than to raise our demand for justice, equality and a future without violence. The reinstatement of the Istanbul Convention, as one of the most comprehensive international instruments for preventing violence against women and children, is still of paramount importance, as it is only through an effective framework, grounded in the egalitarian and legal principles of the secular Republic, that such negligence and impunity can be eradicated.
Badem Çamöz