Thousands are protesting across Turkey following the discovery of the body of eight-year-old Narin Güran, who went missing on 21 August. Demonstrators in several cities, including Adana, İstanbul and Van (Wan), are calling for justice and condemning the Family and Social Services Ministry for failing to protect children.
The Women’s Assemblies of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform gathered in Atatürk Park. Adana, chanting “Children’s fate should not be death” and demanding accountability. Ecem Sena Mutlay, speaking on behalf of the platform, noted that around a thousand children go missing each month in Turkey and criticised the lack of updated statistics from the Turkey’s Statistical Institute (TÜİK) since 2016. “You cannot erase the truth by remaining silent,” she said. “How many more children must die before the government acts?”
Protesters also demanded the effective enforcement of existing child protection laws, including Turkey’s Child Protection Law and Europe’s Lanzarote Convention, a treaty criminalising child sexual abuse, to prevent further tragedies. “Narin would have been in school tomorrow. […] We don’t want to have to ask what happened to another child as well,” Mutlay added.
Hundreds marched on Cumhuriyet Avenue in Van, chanting slogans for justice. Funda Demir Bozkurt, Co-chair of the Van branch of the Education and Science Workers’ Union (Eğitim-Sen), accused the government of enabling a culture of impunity that empowers perpetrators of violence against children and women. “We don’t want to lose even one more child in this child-hostile system,” she stated.
Outside Süreyya Opera House in Kadıköy, İstanbul, We Will Stop Femicide Platform General Secretary Fidan Ataselim criticised the investigation into Narin’s death and demanded transparency from the authorities. She urged the public to continue pressing for the enforcement of international conventions on child protection and comprehensive child safety policies.
The protests come amid increasing scrutiny over the Turkish government’s handling of child protection issues, with critics accusing state and religious authorities of neglect and complicity.
