This announcement comes amid increasing state-backed rhetoric targeting women following President Erdoğan’s declaration of 2025 as the “Year of the Family.” The Diyanet’s statement warns that friendships or conversations between unrelated men and women often lead individuals into the “pit of adultery,” urging people to adhere strictly to Sharia-based social codes.
The fatwa also condemned what it called “digital adultery,” equating immoral behavior in virtual spaces with real-life sin, despite ongoing legal battles by women to classify digital harassment as a punishable crime. While courts often seek physical contact to prosecute harassment, Diyanet’s fatwa warns against any speech, behavior, or media content that could lead to adultery, including films and TV shows.
Moreover, the fatwa once again targeted the LGBTQ+ community, labeling homosexuality as a “deviance cursed by God” and a “major sin.” This latest directive intensifies concerns about growing institutional discrimination and restrictions on personal freedoms in Turkey.
Critics argue that such policies deepen societal divisions and undermine efforts toward gender equality and human rights protections. The fatwa’s broad prohibitions on social interactions between men and women mark a further entrenchment of conservative religious norms in public life.
Photo: ETHA