'Mum, don't die': Murder of Turkish woman ignites anger

ANKARA - The murder of a Turkish woman by her ex-husband in front of her daughter sparked outrage Friday after a video of the attack was published online.

"I don't want to die," Emine Bulut, covered in blood, is heard screaming to her 10-year-old child.

Her tearful daughter says: "Mum, please don't die."

The 38-year-old was stabbed to death in a cafe on August 18 by her former husband in the central Anatolian city of Kirikkale, according to the Hurriyet newspaper.

Bulut, who divorced her killer four years ago, later died in hospital.

The killer told police he killed Bulut with a knife he always carried with him, Turkish broadcaster NTV reported.

Her name was a worldwide trending topic on Twitter and "I don't want to die" (#olmekistemiyorum) was widely quoted on social media.

Officials, including Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul, were quick to condemn the murder after the video was published, along with celebrities and football clubs such as Besiktas.

"We expect the murderer to be punished in the most severe manner," tweeted presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin.

The government said a team of psychologists was caring for the child.

Turkey has struggled to contain rising violence against women.

In the first six months of 2019, 214 women were killed by men, while 440 women were killed last year, according to the women's rights group We Will Stop Femicide.

That was up from 409 women in 2017 and 121 in 2011.

While the government acknowledges the issue of violence against women, critics say not enough is being done to provide shelters and to address the broader problem of gender inequality which permeates through society.

Turkey has ratified the Council of Europe's 2011 Istanbul Convention - the world's first binding instrument to prevent and combat violence against women - but activists say more needs to be done to put the laws into practice.