Authorities announced on Sunday that a suspect insulting a woman mayor was arrested while his party moved to expel him.
Mehmet Emin Korkmaz was behind a scandalous tweet that made rounds on the social media. Korkmaz, a member of the far-right Good Party (IP) hurled insults on Zeynep Güneş, mayor of Mihalgazi district of central province of Eskişehir. “Look at this mayor! She is more appropriate for milking cows in her farm than running a town,” Korkmaz wrote in a tweet accompanying a photo of Güneş. Güneş, a three-term mayor, usually wears a traditional dress popular among female villagers in parts of Türkiye. Korkmaz further disparaged Güneş as “uneducated” and mocked her şalvar, a part of her outfit.
Among mounting public outrage over remarks, prosecutors in Eskişehir launched an investigation into Korkmaz on charges of inciting hatred in public. Korkmaz was detained and remanded into custody on Sunday. IP Secretary-General Osman Ertürk Özel announced on the same day that they referred Korkmaz to the party’s disciplinary board for expulsion as he offered the party’s support to Güneş for “rude behavior she is exposed to.” Özel said in a social media post that only heinous people would insult others based on their choice of dressing. “Turkish women can rule the world, whatever they prefer to wear,” Özel wrote.
Ömer Çelik, spokesperson for ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) where Güneş serves as mayor, denounced the incident in a social media post and described it as “hate speech.” “We are grateful to everyone condemning this toxic rhetoric,” he wrote. Eskişehir Mayor Ayşe Ünlüce, of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) rushed to the side of Güneş. Ünlüce posted a photo of “Mayor Zeynep” in the same dress she was wearing when Korkmaz insulted her. “I condemn the discriminatory expressions towards the mayor. We fight this disrespectful mindset against women. As a member of the republic, which granted right to elect and be elected to women, I cannot accept this dirty language attacking women on what they wear. We are with Mayor Zeynep and against this mindset, the women will prevail in every venue,” she said in a statement.
