A woman from the eastern province of Muş has celebrated her divorce by decorating her car, a practice traditionally done by Turkish couples on their wedding day, while also using the act to defend women’s rights in the country. Selvi Ataş, 25, put signs on her car reading “I’m divorced and very happy” after struggling to separate from her husband for five years.
“Divorced woman are treated as if they have the plague in not only Muş, but overall in Turkey. I want that to change,” said Ataş, who shared the happy photos she took with the car on social media, while adding that “women are strong and should realize their potential.”
“When a woman gets divorced she is accepted as a widow, but when the same happens to a man, he is seen as a single person. That shouldn’t be the case. When you get divorced, people’s attitudes towards you change, including your family, and people start to describe you as ‘the widow,’” she added.
Saying that plenty of women continue to wear their wedding rings and can’t tell people about their marital status after getting divorced, Ataş noted that she wanted to “represent the women suffering because of this.”
“There is no such thing like we will waste our lives just because we got married. A woman is more powerful and precious than anybody else,” she added.
Ataş also reacted to violence against women in Turkey, saying that all men who have killed women should “get what they deserve.”
“What you see here is a woman clinging to life and trying to do something by herself. Women have been oppressed, mistreated and enslaved for years and years. But what was forgotten is that they were created out of a woman. The society told women that getting divorced was shameful. Women have been subjected to violence and couldn’t talk about it to other people, even their mothers,” she said.
“I congratulate all of the women who defended their rights with all my heart. May the women killed by the violence of men rest in peace,” she added.
