Asiye's Story

 "My arms had no sensation now. I was naked and my nakedness frightened me. I was ashamed". This book is Asiye Guzel's account of her ambush by Turkey's security forces and subsequent rape, torture and isolation. In 1996, she was incarcerated for more than five years for belonging to an illegal left-wing party. Asiye fought off suicidal urges, intense fear of dishonour and stigma and nightmarish flashbacks. Finally she decided to seek treatment, declare her experiences publicly and write her story. Speaking out as Asiye does in this book risks ugly consequences in Turkey as in many other countries. Her courage in doing so cannot be dismissed. "Asiye's Story" is more than a memoir that testifies to its author's passionate and defiant will. As she comes to re-define what "honour" means, Asiye also connects her experience to that of thousands of women and men across the world. For this reason, her story is a vital contribution to the struggle to bear witness to such human rights abuses all over the world. "The torturers will lose. I have complete faith in that. So I shout: "I want the future! I want the future!"".

Review: 'Asiye's rape, torture and maltreatment while in detention are described with searing and dignified clarity.' New Statesman 'A political memoir that articulates all that happened without shame ... courageous.' The Guardian 'One of the first detailed accounts of state-based sexual violence, smuggled out of Turkey chapter by chapter, will encourage other women (and some men) to come forward and talk openly about their experience of rape and sexual abuse.' The Times 'However appalling and incredible, the events described in these pages must be read. Asiye's courage shines through every page of this sensitive account, making Asiye's Story as uplifting as it is harrowing.' Anne Sebba 'Asiye speaks for countless women who have been tortured and assaulted. She has found words for the fear, pain and loneliness, and faced her oppressors whilst determined not to surrender to the suffering.' Helen Bamber OBE