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| Europe |
| Turkey: Beat your woman to show her you care (and die young so you can look nice as a stiff) |
| 2004-11-04 |
| Unbelievable... Turkey's most adored belly dancer has appealed to the authorities for protection after threats from her former lover, the country's best-known balladeer. Onur Cakmak, whose stage name is Asena ("She Wolf") filed a lawsuit against Ibrahim Tatlises in Istanbul saying she feared for her life. "I will take the matter to the prime minister if have to," she said. Tatlises said their relationship could end only "if I want it to", that he could track down Asena "in 12 hours to take what action is necessary", and that "she is my honour". That word has chilling resonance in a country where scores of women die every year in so-called honour killings for disgracing their families through liaisons with men. "This man [Tatlises] is synonymous with violence and crime," said Ayse Kismet, a woman activist, referring to the Kurdish singer's reputation for beating wives and lovers and his repeated detentions in connection with alleged possession of arms and drugs. "Tatlises is the prototypical Turkish man," said Hidayet Tuksal, another feminist. "Sadly we live in a society where machismo is revered and beating your wife is seen by men and women alike as a sign that he cares." But as Turkey increases efforts to join the European Union, the nation's patriarchal laws and mentality are beginning to change. Legislation scrapping reduced sentences for honour crimes was approved by the Turkish parliament last month among other improvements to women's rights. Tatlises is Turkey's best-known performer of Arabesque, mawkish ballads that draw heavily on Arabic popular music. Lyrics typically extol the virtues of dying young "so that your corpse may be handsome" and are punctuated by drawn out wailing noises. Extending to the Arab world and former Soviet Central Asia, Tatlises's immense popularity enabled him to build a multi-million pound empire, that includes a chain of pizza parlours and a bus company. Last year Asena was shot in the leg by a youth who said he was acting "to avenge" an undisclosed "wrong" against Tatlises. In February Asena said she was breaking the relationship off for good. It was the first time that Tatlises had been publicly dumped by a woman. "Even if I should die of hunger" Asena said this week, "I will never work or come together with Tatlises ever again." |
| Posted by:Bulldog |
| #6 Turkey’s most adored belly dancer... She certainly is adorable! |
| Posted by: Pappy 2004-11-04 11:23:45 PM |
| #5 What's the word I'm looking for...? Oh, yes: Hrowf! Hrowf! |
| Posted by: Fred 2004-11-04 9:17:06 PM |
| #4 Introducing you our Kurdish singer: Ibrahim Tatlises and bellydancer Asena Well to tell the truth he did not beat her (at least not known) but threaded her not to leave him (such a yummy girl I can understand the feelings to miss her). But I agree with all of you to exterminate al the men who can beat such yummy girls :) |
| Posted by: Murat 2004-11-04 11:31:48 AM |
| #3 I can't abide men who abuse women. This excludes self defense though :D She needs to find body guard. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2004-11-04 10:53:41 AM |
| #2 What's the average female dental xray in Turkey look like? |
| Posted by: Jules 187 2004-11-04 10:51:53 AM |
| #1 The best thing she could do right now is to come out with a counter threat. Depending on which would work better, it should be "A REAL man should kill another man who threatens a woman"; or, "I would feel very close to any man who would cut the throat of this villain"; or "I will pay good money to anyone who will kill this monster, who threatens to kill me." This would not only seriously threaten the a-hole, but send a message both to other Turkish women and to their parliament that murder is, and should be, repaid with murder, if the government refuses to intervene. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2004-11-04 10:49:41 AM |