Bozkurt asks how it is that she is responsible for Isik's shooting

Public outcry surrounding the violence that has followed on the women's shows on television is leading to swift action by the television stations.Yasemin Bozkurt, in defense of her program, said to Hurriyet regarding the case of Birgul Isik, "The government wasn't able to protect her, so how could I?" When Isik said on her program "My husband is going to kill me," Bozkurt claims she called the Kadir Kocdemir, Governor of the Elazig province where Isik lived, and that the governor told her to send Isik directly back to him for protection. Reporters investigating the matter spoke wuth ethe Elazig Governor's assistant Mukadder Karaarklan, who denied ever having spoken with Bozkurt. Birgul Isik is currently fighting for her life in a hospital, and if she dies, will live 4 children behind her. It was her husband's third marriageBirgul's sad story began 20 years ago, when she married Mehmet Emin Isik in a village 30 kilometers outside of Elazig. Mehmet Emin Isik had been married twice before, in religious (as opposed to state) ceremonies, and had apparently beaten his previous wives. Parents wouldn't let her come homeTrying to escape from the constant beatings, Birgul Isik tried to go back to her parents' home, but they wouldn't accept her. Each time she tried, they told her that a women's place was next to her husband, and in the way, Birgul Isik was forced to stay with the man who was mistreating her. Around this time, Birgul Isik began to pay closer attention to the variety of women's programs offered on Turkish television. Finally, taking her four youngest children with her, Birgul ran off to Istanbul, where she was taken in by the police. With the help of the police, she managed to make it onto Yasemin Bozkurt's "Voice of Women" program, where she gave a short version of the years of violence she had experienced at home. She destroyed our honorAfter Birgul appeared on the "Voice of Women" program, her husband and relatives in Elazig apparently gathered their forces and decided to punish her. At the same time, they discovered that Birgul was scheduled to return to Elazig that Tuesday. On Tuesday morning, Birgul's oldest son, 14 year old R.I. (name not given), woke up and went to Elazig to meet his mother's bus. When she came down the steps of the bus, Birgul's son opened fire on her from a close distance, saying "You went and television and destroyed our honor." He claims his maternal uncle (Birgul's brother) gave him the gun. After an 11 hour operation, Birgul was brought back to life. Two of the five bullets in her could not be removed however. Caught as he was trying to escape at the bus station, Birgul's 14 year old son said this on questioning: "My mother escaped from our house several times. This last time, seeing her television really made me angry. After she got off the bus, I asked her why she had done it, and then shot her." Birgul's husband: I had no ideaBirgul's husband, Mehmet Emin Isik, claims that he had no idea his son would do such a thing. "I was on my farm at the time" said Isik. Currently, Birgul's husband Mehmet and her son R.I., as well as her step son from Mehmet's previous marriage, are in prison. Birgul's father is taking care of the four younger children. The next steps in the case are still unclear, but whether the cancellation of the women's programs will have a positive effect on the situation is far from obvious.  Â