Turks at War (with themselves). Part IV.

Around 2,500 people were injured in Turkey as they were trying to slaughter sheep and cows in the Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, Dogan News Agency reported on Monday.

In 2007,

by the second day at 15:00,

 1529 persons stabbed themselves or were attacked by the animals that were to be sacrificed. (Source here) Two died of heart attacks during the act of amateur butchery.

Here are the previous results: 2005 and 2006

More news from Turkish society:

Why Turkish Cities Are Washed With Blood Every Bayram?

[Originally published in Hürriyet Daily News] If you live in Istanbul, or any other major Turkish city, and have toured around a bit during the recent Kurban Bayramı, or the Feast of Sacrifice, you might have seen some carnage. For hundreds of thousands of sheep have been slaughtered in the four days of the religious holiday and some of this bloodshed took place right on the streets or near the highways. Many in the Turkish media criticized these "uncivilized scenes," and, they were right to do so. The practice of slaughtering animals in public space indeed looks, and is, uncivilized.

Headscarf Focus Obscures Women’s Other Problems

By Jenny White on women’s rights in Turkey

The Anti-Discrimination Women’s Rights Association (AKDER) [last week released a] 41-page report, “A Statistical Examination of the Condition of Women in Turkey and the Impact of the Headscarf Ban on Turkey’s Gender Equality Ranking,” [which] makes use of statistics from the General Directorate on the Status of Women (KSGM), NGOs and academia and argues that headscarved women — who account for 62 percent of women in Turkey — are being “pushed out of society” in a process that ultimately prevents the resolution of real issues Turkish women face…

Youth Violence in Turkey

By Jenny White on youth and violence in Turkey

Turkish Parliament commissioned a report on Violence in Turkey 2008, based on nationwide polling. A second poll was carried out among youth in prison. Some results:

Decoding the neighborhoods called ’varoş’

ISTANBUL – The redefinition of a phenomenon: ‘varoş’. Part 1 of 3.

Decoding the neighborhoods called ’varoş’

Contrary to popular belief, the more than 8.1 million residents of a new urban phenomenon in Turkey called ‘varoş’ are not united in support of a single political party."