JINHA

WAN – Activists from the Congress of Free Women (KJA) escorted the body of child marriage and likely femicide victim Hasret Mete to her final resting place in her village near Erciş, in Van province.

Hasret Mete was 17 years old when she was married, six months ago. This week, her husband's family found her wounded from a pistol shot in her home in the town of Erciş. She lost her life in the hospital. Hasret's uncle, Ethem Ete, said that when he saw the body it was clear that Hasret had not committed suicide (as claimed) and was shot in the abdomen from a distance.

Officials at the understaffed morgue held on to the body for a full day while Hasret's family and women activists waited for an autopsy to be performed. Yesterday, Hasret's family along with activists from the KJA were finally able to receive her body and bear it to her native village.

There were tense moments at the funeral when Hasret's widower, along with his family, showed up at the funeral. Because her husband worked outside of the city, her husband's family often argued and interfered with her.

Throughout April, women in Van held a month of action against violence against women. They worked to raise consciousness about the wave of alleged suicides by women, many of which, like Hasret's, were suspicious.

(va/gc/fk/cm)