There’s A Haunting Memorial In Turkey To Commemorate 440 Women Killed By Their Own Husbands Last Year

There is a certain beauty and strength in weakness as some may say. But sometimes inequity between people brings only sorrow. Such is the case of domestic violence, an acute yet so often unspoken problem all over the world. One artist in Turkey found it so heartbreaking and important, he managed to find a way to bring it to the awareness of his fellow countrymen that just couldn’t be ignored and also beautifully commemorate those who fell victim for this terrible violence so at least the memory of those wasted lives remains.

More: Yankose h/t: boredpanda

We hear quite a lot of stories about domestic violence against women from about every corner of the world and it is one of the most common reasons for violent deaths in women. Regarding matters in Turkey, these numbers speak to the fact that about 40 percent of women there have suffered from domestic violence, some cases having the most tragic end. In pursuit of bringing awareness to these problems, one artist came up with the idea of a monument no one could overlook.

The artist himself said that the inspiration to act came from seeing the increasing number of messages about the problem on social media. However, he was aware that those stories tend to disappear as quickly as they rise to the attention of the public eye and saw the need of a reminder that could not go unnoticed for a long while.

The artist argues about the choice of using high-heels and not flats or any other kind of shoes. He says that on one hand, it shouldn’t be seen as a direct message as he chose heels mostly because of aesthetical reasons. It’s visual after all, so he had to think in that way. On the other hand, he contradicts himself saying it could be seen as a symbol of women being employed and therefore able to care for themselves, not being dependent on their spouses.

The artist believes that knowledge is power and thus it’s important to know the problem and how can one tackle it as an individual. It takes a lot of separate movement to change the system. Tuna’s other projects also gravitate around social and economic issues his home country is dealing with.