A law aiming to protect women’s rights is back under the spotlight as Türkiye heads to presidential elections. A call by the New Welfare Party (YRP) for amending the law sparked criticism as the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is engaged in alliance talks with the smaller opposition party.

However, the minister in charge of overseeing the implementation of the law stressed that even a debate on the existence of the law is "unacceptable."

Family and Social Services Minister Derya Yanık tweeted on Monday that Article 6284 for Protection of Family and Prevention of Violence Toward Women was one of the most important legal regulations the government implemented against violence targeting women.

"The struggle for women's rights and fight against violence targeting women is a red line for the AK Party. For the past 20 years, the government implemented countless legal regulations and raised awareness for the fight against violence and for granting women all their social, economic and political rights," she said. Yanık also criticized Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who was quick to jump on the opportunity to criticize the government on the issue ahead of the May 14 elections. Kılıçdaroğlu tweeted a "call" to "young conservative women" on Saturday and pledged they would "not allow their gains and freedoms to disappear," claiming the AK Party sided with a party advocating the removal of the law. Yanık said Kılıçdaroğlu – who is the main contender of the elections for the opposition bloc against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – had "no right to undermine our efforts."

"Kılıçdaroğlu should know that women of this country, particularly conservative women, are strong and smart enough to claim their gains (in the struggle for rights). We are working meticulously to improve the implementation practices of the law since it was passed. Article 6284 is very essential," she said.

The New Welfare Party views the law as unfair to men. The party says under the law, only women’s testimony is eligible before the court in cases of domestic violence and even if the spouses agree to reconcile, public lawsuits against male spouses continued and men were exposed to longer restraining orders. The party also pledges to limit the lengthy periods of mandatory alimonies for male spouses after divorces.

The party has also opposed the Istanbul Convention on women's rights, the world's first binding treaty to prevent and combat violence against women, which Türkiye withdrew from in 2021 because it already has strong laws in place to ensure women's rights and prevention of violence. Opponents of the pact in Türkiye say the convention undermines family unity, encourages divorce, and that its references to equality were being used by the LGBT community to gain broader acceptance in society.

Domestic violence is a thorny issue for Türkiye where dozens of women are killed every year at the hands of their spouses or relatives.

Though laws stipulate severe prison terms for perpetrators of assaults and homicides, the courts sometimes hand down reduced terms if defendants exhibit "good conduct," namely claiming remorse and "behaving well" during the hearings. In 2022, Türkiye introduced a new bill that brought harsh sentences for crimes against women. One of the most significant changes the bill brings is limiting the legal interpretations that pave the way for reductions in perpetrators' sentences.

The bill also includes stricter sentences for deliberate manslaughter, deliberate injury, threat and torture if the victim is a woman. For instance, the sentence of life imprisonment usually handed down to people convicted of deliberate manslaughter will be converted to aggravated life imprisonment if committed against a woman. Those convicted of aggravated life imprisonment have little to no chance of being released on parole after serving part of their sentence.