Parliament staff, lawmakers hold protest over femicide of employee

ANKARA

Several lawmakers and staff at the Turkish parliament have staged a silent sit-in protest following the brutal killing of an employee by her estranged husband.

The demonstration was joined by Murat Emir and Semra Dinçer from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and Meral Danış Beştaş and Sevilay Çelenk Özen from the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), alongside many female employees and parliamentary aides.

Participants also applauded to express their outrage and solidarity.

Saliha Akkaş, who worked as a cleaner assigned to the CHP group, was in the process of getting a divorce and was living separately from her husband, local media reported.

According to reports, her husband, Salih Akkaş, went to Saliha Akkaş's home and stabbed her 37 times following an argument. He then took his own life.

Despite being taken to hospital in critical condition, Saliha Akkaş succumbed to her injuries.

Saliha Akkaş had previously obtained two restraining orders against her husband, who had a criminal record for threatening and insulting his spouse, as well as for violating a protection order.

Femicide remains one of Türkiye’s most deeply rooted and devastating social issues, with most victims killed by current or former partners or other close male relatives.

Women’s rights groups have long criticized the lack of deterrence in addressing gender-based violence.

According to the We Will Stop Femicides Platform, 136 women were murdered by men in the first six months of 2025, while 145 women were found dead under suspicious circumstances.

In recent years, femicide numbers have shown a worrying trend, the platform’s data showed.

In the first half of 2021, 131 women were killed. That number rose to 164 in 2022, 147 in 2023 and 205 in 2024.