I’ve always been appalled at the fact my Turkish father’s aunt was forced to marry the man who raped her when she was a teenager. I try to console myself with the fact this was a Turkish village in the 1950s and that a lot has changed since then, but with a "marry-your-rapist" bill set to be introduced in Turkey in a matter of days, I’m having difficulty.

This bill will release scores of men who have been sentenced for committing statutory rape – Turkish newspaper Hürriyet estimates this currently stands at around 4000 – on the condition they marry their victim. Whether there will be a limit as to the age difference between the two parties is still undecided. If there is to be one, it will be set at either 10 or 15 years – a small, yet still utterly detestable, concession.

This whole bill is detestable. In fact, even that word fails to convey the absolute anger, horror and disgust felt towards the bill by many women – and men – of Turkish heritage. In an age where sexual harassment against women is finally becoming taboo, where countries who have a more conservative culture, such as Palestine or Egypt, are finally repealing easy escapes for rapists, why would you bring in such a law? Why would you take such a step back? And it is a huge step back for Turkey. In 2004, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s AK Party actually doubled the sentence for child abusers and removed the very law they are now bringing back.

10 quotes from women that defined the decade Show all 10 1 /10 10 quotes from women that defined the decade 10 quotes from women that defined the decade Malala Yousafzai "One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world." United Nations Youth Assembly, New York, 2013 Getty 10 quotes from women that defined the decade Michelle Obama “Whether it was during my time as a lawyer, as an administrator at a university, a nonprofit manager, even now as First Lady, I’ve never once asked someone I was interviewing to explain a test score or a grade in a class -- never. I’ve never once made a hire just because someone went to an Ivy League school instead of a state school -- never. What I have looked for is what kind of person you are. Are you a hard worker? Are you reliable? Are you open to other viewpoints? Have you stepped outside of your own self-interest to serve others? Have you found a way to serve our country, whether in uniform or in your community?” Commencement address at Eastern Kentucky University, Kentucky, 2013 Getty 10 quotes from women that defined the decade Emma Watson "I have realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop." United Nations, New York, 2014 Getty Images 10 quotes from women that defined the decade Patricia Arquette “To every woman who gave birth to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights. It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all." Academy Awards, California, 2015 Getty Images 10 quotes from women that defined the decade Hillary Clinton "All the evidence tells us that despite the enormous obstacles that remain, there has never been a better time in history to be born female. But the data leads to a second conclusion: That despite all this progress, we're just not there yet." Women in The World Summit, New York, 2015 Getty Images 10 quotes from women that defined the decade Gloria Steinem “We are here and around the world for a deep democracy that says we will not be quiet, we will not be controlled, we will work for a world in which all countries are connected. God may be in the details, but the goddess is in connections. We are at one with each other, we are looking at each other, not up." Women's March in Washington DC, 2017 Getty Images 10 quotes from women that defined the decade Oprah Winfrey “So I want all the girls watching here and now to know that a new day is on the horizon! And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say, ‘Me too’ again. Thank you.” Golden Globe Awards, California, 2018 NBCUniversal via Getty Images 10 quotes from women that defined the decade Emma Gonzalez "So we are speaking up for those who don’t have anyone listening to them, for those who can’t talk about it just yet, and for those who will never speak again. We are grieving, we are furious, and we are using our words fiercely and desperately because that’s the only thing standing between us and this happening again.” March for Our Lives rally, Washington DC, 2018 Getty Images 10 quotes from women that defined the decade Tarana Burke “So much of what we hear about the Me Too Movement is about individual bad actors or depraved, isolated behavior, and it fails to recognize that anybody in a position of power comes with privilege, and it renders those without that power more vulnerable. Teachers and students, coaches and athletes, law enforcement and citizen, parent and child: these are all relationships that can have an incredible imbalance of power. But we reshape that imbalance by speaking out against it in unison and by creating spaces to speak truth to power. We have to reeducate ourselves and our children to understand that power and privilege doesn't always have to destroy and take -- it can be used to serve and build. And we have to re-educate ourselves to understand that, unequivocally, every human being has the right to walk through this life with their full humanity intact.” Ted Women, California, 2018 Getty Images for Comedy Central 10 quotes from women that defined the decade Greta Thunberg "The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say - we will never forgive you." UN Climate Summit, New York, 2019 Getty Images

Looking at Erdoğan’s political views as a whole, I believe there can only be one reason: the notion that marriage and children will put Turkey on course to become a major player in the world. He states that "strong nations come from strong families". It’s also why, time after time, he has advocated for Turkish families to have three children, and why, two weeks ago, he declared that having children or living together outside marriage is not in the Islamic – and therefore Turkish – culture. Yet forcing a girl to marry her rapist is not accepted in today’s Turkish culture either; it is seen by the majority as sexual abuse.

Erdoğan, who claimed last week that he will never allow a reduction in sentencing for crimes such as terror or sexual abuse but who is allowing this "marry-your-rapist" bill through, clearly doesn’t see it as such. Instead, he considers it a way for his aims to be met, a way for the population to rise. A rapist marrying his young victim not only means that any child borne from the incident will be legitimised but, with the girl still possessing many fertile years ahead of her, she will also be able to produce more children.

To say this is extremely alarming is an understatement. The main implication of this law is that women in Turkey are not to be valued; they are simply baby-makers and nothing more. With the president and the law conveying this message, it will only be a matter of time before society believes it, which will consequently have a devastating impact on women’s rights across the country.

Men will feel far more dominant over women and the female body than they already do, which will lead to a growth in rape as well as domestic violence or abuse. The rate of femicide will rise despite it already being very high – according to one Turkish women’s platform, around 474 women were killed in 2019, nearly four times the number of women killed in the UK in 2018 – and self-harm and suicide amongst women will increase as a result of them being stuck in unhappy homes with a man, and possibly children, they didn’t ask for.

That the president and parliament thought not to consider the repercussions of this "marry-your-rapist" bill is shameful. They should realise that forcing families, once again, to push their young daughters into lives of misery because they are seen as "damaged goods", is reprehensible.

Turkey used to be progressive on the topic of women’s rights. In the past 20 years, the ban on headscarves in state institutions or in the army has been lifted and mothers have found a work-life balance through the introduction of “milk leave” – 1.5 hours out of every working day to feed their new baby. But this new law will actively erode nearly all of that progress.