Mutlu Kaya, a 19-year-old Turkish girl, is battling for life after she was shot in the head by suspected radicals for participating in a talent show on national TV. Her condition is said to be critical.
She was at her home in Ergani district when the incident happened. Three persons, including Kaya's former boyfriend, have been detained in connection with the shooting, according to reports.
Kaya hails from Diyarbakir, a city where conservative forces have constantly been trying to suppress women, despite the fact that its mayor and most of its MPs are women.
Local media reports said Kaya had lodged a complaint with the police four months ago, claiming she was getting repeated death threats, including some from her father's relatives, asking her not to appear on 'Sesi Cok Guzel', Turkish version of America's 'Got Talent'.
"When they heard that I was going to join the competition, they told me they would kill me. I am afraid," Kaya had told the talent show's production team.
Following the threats, the young women decided not to participate, but Sibel Can, a popular Turkish folk singer, came in support of her. To convince her to join the talent show, she even went to the extent of visiting Kaya in the school canteen, where she worked a part-time job to support her mother and eight siblings.
BBC analyst Guney Yildiz, explaining the psyche of the society in which Mutlu Kaya lives, said, "A poor girl living with her family in a run-down one bedroom flat, attracting national media attention could have triggered a fatal conservative social backlash."
Kaya's boyfriend reportedly told the police he did not shoot her, but claimed he was opposed to her singing, as it was wrong.
He told the police that Kaya pushed him into smoking and drinking. "When I met her I neither drank nor smoked. I started that because of all these worries," he told the police, according to The Guardian.
Twitter Reactions
M.B @MBoynukara
Wake up, go to the stage, sing again. Guard of honor for those who persist, persist in trying to hit your dreams to chain #MutluKaya
buse özel @buseozelll
so innocent, so sad, so beautiful ... it's come to this world tale. I wish to see are the good times #MutluKaya
Francesca Tarissi @Robotrix
Uncivilized. Criminals. Disgusting.
#MutluKaya
MİRBEY @siyaevineee
Drown in the honor of your male-dominated world. #MutluKaya
Hasan Aydın @hasannaydn
#MutluKaya Wake Up. Finish the unfinished dreams ... Our prayers with you
süreyya @AkhanSureyya
Damn Your Honor .. #MutluKaya
