"Iron Woman" is the identify given to Mutlu Kaya by her virtually two million TikTok followers, as a result of bullet in her mind. She is a social media star, a heroic determine to her followers. But this is not how she wished to search out fame.

In May 2015, aged 20, Mutlu was a finalist on the Turkish equal of Britain's Got Talent. As a little bit lady, she used to sing into her hairbrush in entrance of the mirror, pretending to be a popstar, and now it regarded as if her dream may come true. "I was so excited I could hear my heart," she recollects.

But, days after showing on the TV present, the longer term she had imagined was brutally snatched from her when a jilted suitor tried to kill her. Mutlu was shot within the head and spent just below two months in intensive care, her household tenting within the hospital automotive park exterior to remain close to her.

Her story made headlines all over the world. Eight years on, she is unable to make use of her fingers and makes use of a wheelchair, and the little strolling she will handle is gradual and stilted. The bullet stays lodged inside her mind, a everlasting reminder of her ordeal, too dangerous to take away.

In a merciless accident, her older sister, Dilek was murdered three years in the past by a person claiming to be her boyfriend. According to the Turkish marketing campaign group We Will Stop Femicide, some 334 ladies misplaced their lives because of gender violence in 2022, and 245 died suspiciously.

Dilek was shot and killed the day after her thirty fifth birthday, in March 2020. "It hit me harder than the bullet," Mutlu says.

Today, she nonetheless needs her voice to be heard however she is now not singing conventional Turkish people. Instead, she has recorded a protest monitor, Resurrection, a Turkish entice music during which she sings of her hope that "the cruel ones will pay the price one day". On TikTok, she is preventing for change; for harsher penalties and for violence in opposition to ladies in Turkey to be taken extra significantly.

Mutlu is one in every of eight siblings, six ladies and two boys, and her household comes from the small Ergani district of Diyarbakir, a conservative, Kurdish-majority metropolis in southeastern Turkey. She speaks no English, so we talk by way of a translator on a video name. Dressed in a brown noticed shirt, she appears to be like extra formal than within the TikToks during which she is commonly fantastically made-up, carrying vibrant colors. Her lengthy, darkish hair, which reaches to the backs of her knees, is pulled loosely behind her.

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She first met Veysi Ercan, "the man who messed up all my life", when she was 14 and he was in his 20s. She thought he was a gentleman at first, however over time her opinion modified. When he requested her to marry him, she stated no, sending him "crazy".

When she filmed the TV present in Istanbul, some 1,400km (869 miles) from her residence, he additionally made the journey. "He came to the studios and said, 'if you let her join the show, I will kill you all'. He was always calling and threatening me. 'You are mine or you will be dead'. After I took part in the contest, he became more jealous. I think he felt like if she is successful on TV, [he] won't be able to control her."

With just some days till the ultimate, Mutlu had been rehearsing when Ercan turned as much as discover her at Dilek's residence, after bombarding her with messages. Outside, he pulled out a gun and shot her by way of a glass door. The subsequent factor she remembers is waking up in hospital. "I opened my eyes and I was in bed, totally immobile. I had to use nappies, which was very hard."

In 2016, Ercan was convicted over the taking pictures and sentenced to fifteen years in jail. There have been studies of his launch beneath surveillance, however it's unclear precisely when which may be. With time served earlier than his sentencing - which counts for double - it might be within the subsequent few years.

Mutlu says this is likely one of the hardest issues to cope with. "This man took my hands and feet from me. He should have got a life sentence. The penalties are not strong enough. I want to keep the topic of violence against women on the agenda. I always get positive feedback, especially from women. They tell me, 'Mutlu, you are our hope'."

According to the World Health Organisation, virtually a 3rd (32%) of girls and ladies in Turkey aged between 15 and 49 have skilled bodily and/or sexual violence from a companion of their lifetime, primarily based on knowledge collated between 2000 and 2018. This is the very best share in Europe and West Asia, for international locations the place knowledge is on the market. By distinction, the common for Europe is 23%.

Incidents of femicide and violence in opposition to ladies are stated to have risen lately. In 2021, there were protests after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pulled out of the Istanbul Convention, a world accord designed to guard ladies from home violence.

Mutlu is sharing her story in a brand new documentary, My Name Is Happy, so-called as a result of "mutlu" means "happy" in English. In one extraordinary scene, she sits and watches as a physician reveals her a scan of the bullet inside her. She has made peace with it. It sounds unusual, she says, however generally she talks to the overseas object inside her head. "Often I have strong headaches. I ask her not to make me feel so bad and cause so much pain."

Since the taking pictures, the assist Mutlu has discovered on social media has sustained her in her darkest moments. She shares every part from updates on her therapy to touching household moments and singing clips. In the documentary, we see footage of her chatting with different ladies sharing their tales of violence and femicide.

In 2022, her sister's killer obtained a life sentence, which he's interesting, in line with the programme. Despite her disabilities, Mutlu made certain she was on the courtroom for the listening to.

She nonetheless loves singing however it's campaigning that helps her cope. "In Turkey, many people play the three monkeys: deaf, blind and mute," she says. "I want other countries and communities to hear what happened. I want everyone in England to hear my voice - and I ask them to add theirs."

Her identify could imply "happy", however for her it now has a unique which means, as she says within the documentary. "When I say Mutlu now, it means to be mature, to be a woman who has suffered a lot."