10/08/2023

The documentary directed by Nick Read and Ayse Toprak deals with the horrifying phenomenon of Femicide. The film reveals the dark reality of systematic patriarchal violence in Turkey.

In the DokuKino hall, there was a great interest in the film telling the story of Mutlu, part of the Human Rights Dox program. Abuse, violence, and murder are the daily terms that are heard in justice institutions, where the scale is hard to understand, and in where the word "mercy" does not even exist. 

Mutlu's convincing but damaged voice became hopeful for hundreds of other women who, as a sign of revolt against an oppressive and rotten system, came out in protests to show resistance and strength.

The story of begins with her biography with the name given by her parents, which ironically translates as "happy", but her life was cruelly damaged in a system where women are brutally raped and killed.

Her dream of becoming a singer did not die out even after the violence that stole her beautiful voice and left her body borken. Mutlu was shot and wounded by a man who wanted her at all costs. A part of the bullet Mutlu still carries in her head, that's why she is called the Iron Woman. This name turned into the Golden Woman as she started the fight for her sister killed by femicide, along with hundreds of others who walked the streets of Turkey in search of justice.

Mutlu's sister was killed by a man, two years after Mutlu was put in a coma by the violence of a man. Mutlu's sister was stolen, her voice was taken, her body was broken, but she did not lose her hope. 

After the tragedy that happened to her and her sister, she continued to protest, she continued to demand justice, until the murderer and his blood stained hands were sentenced to life imprisonment. The person who attacked Mutlu was sentenced to only 15 years in prison.
"In the killer's eyes, it seemed to me that I was seeing my sister, maybe because he was the last person to see her. After getting the well-deserved punishment, it seemed to me that I left my sister in court, it seemed to me that I left her alone" were Mutlu's words after the verdict for the murderer was given.

In the final minutes of the film, a woman in the audience was in tears. A man in the second row was shaking his head as if to ask “how is this possible?” When the lights came on the audience was moved and in tears.

The data presented in the film shows that since 2015 over 2,500 women have been killed in reported incidents of femicide in Turkey. While the UN estimates that worldwide every year about 470,000 women are killed in reported incidents of femicide.

By: Valona Hasani

Photo: Furkan Celik