The murder of 8-year-old Narin has deeply impacted Turkey. Gülseren Onanç’s piece explores the layers of complicity and silence surrounding Narin’s death, showing how various members of the community, from family to authorities, were involved in this tragic event.
On August 21, in the village of Tavşantepe in the Bağlar district of Diyarbakır, the body of 8-year-old Narin, who went missing after leaving a Quran course, was found after 19 days of searching. When all hope of finding Narin alive was lost, witnessing the brutal murder of Elif shattered the conscience of the entire nation of Turkey.
However, Narin could have gone to her school, which opened today (September 9), and in the future, she might have become a teacher, doctor, police officer, nurse, or lawyer.
According to DW Turkey, the mystery surrounding Narin’s death has yet to be unraveled, but the testimony of a new suspect has revealed the role of her uncle, Salim Güran, in the incident. The suspect stated: “Narin’s uncle, the village headman Salim Güran, brought the body in a vehicle. It was wrapped in a blanket. We put it in a sack together. The headman left. I took the sack in my vehicle and later buried it in a creek bed.”
He also added that he would receive 200,000 TL in return. The price for helping and abetting the murder of a child is 200,000 TL. The fact that this person claimed to have prayed and then joined the search efforts shows the extent of the rot.
This blood-chilling statement naturally instills in us the reflex to demand swift punishment for these perpetrators.
The System that Killed Narin
The reason and manner of Narin’s death have not yet been revealed. The prosecutor’s office is considering the possibility that the young girl was killed because she “witnessed an event she should not have seen” related to her uncle, Salim Güran, who is currently in custody.
Not an Isolated but a Collective Crime
The brutal murder of an 8-year-old child is a massacre in itself. While those directly involved in this massacre spoke under police pressure after the body was found, the fact that almost all residents of Tavşantepe village, most of whom are Narin’s relatives, remained silent and watched this massacre shows that it is not an isolated incident. Narin was killed collectively. Within this system, Narin’s family, the many relatives who live in the village and have remained silent for days, the tribe members of that village, and the politicians who know them—all are perpetrators of this murder.
In fact, the system that killed Narin is the patriarchal system.
Who Does Narin’s Body Belong To?
Last night, there was a new development; after the autopsy, Narin’s body was not handed over to her family. “Well, would a child’s body be given to the family that killed the child?” I thought. I asked myself if the state had decided to protect Narin after her death since it could not protect her while she was alive. But in the morning, I saw that the body was handed over to “close relatives.” I wondered who these close relatives were. Diyarbakır MP Sevilay Çelenk wrote that one of the people standing in the front row at the funeral prayer was the provincial head of HÜDA-PAR. The funeral was carried out by an army of men.
Vedat Turgut from HÜDA-PAR said about Narin Güran, “These are not our culture; these are the culture of Europe, America, and Israel.” In response to this statement, Berrin Sönmez wrote on her X account, “The ruling party partner HüdaPar/Hezbollah wants to close the Narin murder investigation without touching their supporters. The emphasis on culture means confining girls and women to the home and encouraging domestic male violence with impunity.”
The imam who led Narin’s funeral prayer said, “Today, what lies here is our conscience, our humanity. May the Almighty give usconscience and morality. As a society, let us reconsider our humanity and remember it; let us progress on the path of becoming a moral society.”
EŞİK: “May Your Dark, Outdated Mentality and Traditions Perish”
A bridal veil was placed on the coffin containing the body of little Narin. The Women’s Platform for Equality (EŞİK) expressed their reaction on social media, writing, “The patriarchal mentality that sees 8-year-old girls not as future teachers, doctors, or police officers but only as brides, put a bridal veil on the coffin of little Narin! May your dark, outdated mentality, traditions, and customs perish.” EŞİK also stated last week that the government’s policies on violence against women were merely performative.
Members of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform and the Women’s Assemblies also took to the streets. The platform’s General Secretary, Fidan Ataselim, said, “We will not leave children to the mercy and conscience of this family, this government, or these ministers.” After the protest, three women were detained.
Fidan Ataselim: “You Were Saying ‘Family, Family,’ Here is Your Family”
Criticizing the practices of the Ministry of Family and Social Services, Ataselim said: “Minister of Family, aren’t the children and women in this country under your responsibility? You kept saying ‘Family, family,’ here is your family. Did you see the family? We said women are being killed. The more you talked about the family, the more these murders turned into massacres.”
Women’s organizations were on the streets yesterday in Istanbul, Ankara, and Diyarbakır. Today, from Edirne to Mardin, from Izmir to Van, from Bodrum to Edremit, women are on the streets everywhere.
Dear Narin, today you could have worn your school uniform and gone to school; instead, it is our duty to fight against this mentality that buried your body in the ground. For you and all children.