Men wear miniskirts to protest violence against women in Turkey

"If a miniskirt is responsible for everything, if wearing a miniskirt means immorality and
unchastity, if a woman who wears a miniskirt is sending an invitation about what will happen to her, then we are also sending an invitation."

This is the rallying cry behind the most head-turning arm of a massive online campaign decrying violence against women in Turkey, according to BBC News a campaign that's grown more than 6 million strong on Twitter alone following the death of a 20-year-old student who was reportedly stabbedfor trying to resist a rape attempt.

#ozgecanicinminietekgiy Sorun mini etek deil ZHNYET pic.twitter.com/0rxn1EgI8Q

—@benhastayim

Turkey'sHurriyet Daily News reported earlier this month thatzgecan Aslan, a psychology student at a University in southern Turkey, had been missing for two days when police found her burnt remains in a riverbed.

Three men were arrested on Feb. 16 in connection with the young woman'sdeath, and through police interrogation it was learned that one of the suspects a 26-year-old minibus driver had abducted Aslan after all other passengers haddisembarked from the bus she was on.

"[The suspect] exited the scheduled route in spite of Aslans protestations and drove to a secluded spot," Hurryietreported. "When he attempted to rape the woman, she fought back and used pepper spray against her attacker. [The suspect] then stabbed Aslan several times and hit her with an iron pipe, killing her."

News of the violent murder spread quickly, prompting mass demonstrations around the country by women's rights activists who say Aslan's death reflects Turkey's growing problemof violence against women and girls.

As Al Jazeeranotes,the murder rate of womenskyrocketedby 1,400 per cent between 2002 and 2009. An estimated28,000 women were assaulted in 2013 alone, more than 214 of them being murdered "normally by husbands or lovers" according to official figures.

While it was predominantly women drivingthe original campaign against violence(both online and off,)in the past week, men havetaken centre-stage in Turkey's fight for female rights.

Men from both Turkey and the neighbouring country of Azerbaijan have been putting their own twist on the #ozgecanicinsiyahgiyhashtag being used by thousands of women on Instagram and Twitter to share photos of themselves wearing black in Aslan's memory.

.... #OzgecanAslan #OzgecancinSiyahGiy #ozgecanicin pic.twitter.com/tg0Q3fAHtr

—@Hzl_tsc

Instead of using the hashtag above, which tranlsates to "wear black for zgecan," Turkish and Azeri men have been using #ozgecanicinminietekgiy"wear a miniskirt for zgecan" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to spread theirmessage.

#ozgecanicinminietekgiy Gençler biraz akll olun ya. Mini etek giyeceinize iddet nasl engellenir onu düünün pic.twitter.com/vaI9DtpKAG

—@benhastayim

Azerbaycan: Erkeklerden taciz ve tecavüze kar itiraz olarak #ozgecanicinminietekgiy kampanyas. Bravo size çocuklar pic.twitter.com/dAznrhDSh6

—@YeganeAyhan

Azerbaycan: Erkeklerden #ozgecanicinminietekgiy kampanyas http://t.co/DfsAzu5gXW pic.twitter.com/9Ayj7gSOxb

—@ortasayfa

The hashtag, which first appeared last Wednesday, has now been used more than 11,000 times according to social analytics service Topsy.

And men aren't just rocking miniskirts in photos online. They're also taking their legs to the streets to protest violence against women in Turkey.

Some grabbed their mothers' skirts, others wore their girlfriends'. #EteiniGiyTaksimeGel #ozgecanicinminietekgiy pic.twitter.com/MhotZ3SmQw

—@ZambakTukan

In an interview with CNN, prominent Turkish lawyer and activist Hulya Gulbaharcalled theminiskirt campaign"very effective," noting that this is "the first time women's rights have been so widely endorsed in Turkey."