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Women chant slogans during a protest marking International Women’s Day in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday. [AP]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Thousands of women took to the streets of Turkish cities Saturday to mark International Women\u2019s Day, protesting inequality and violence against women.<\/p>\n
On the Asian side of Istanbul, a rally in Kadikoy saw members of dozens of women\u2019s groups listen to speeches, dance and sing in the spring sunshine. The colorful protest was overseen by a large police presence, including officers in riot gear and a water cannon truck.<\/p>\n
The government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared 2025 the Year of the Family. Protestors pushed back against the idea of women\u2019s role being confined to marriage and motherhood, carrying banners reading \u201cFamily will not bind us to life\u201d and \u201cWe will not be sacrificed to the family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Critics have accused the government of overseeing restrictions on women\u2019s rights and not doing enough to tackle violence against women.<\/p>\n
Erdogan in 2021 withdrew Turkey from a European treaty, dubbed the Istanbul Convention, that protects women from domestic violence. Turkey\u2019s We Will Stop Femicides Platform says 394 women were killed by men in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is bullying at work, pressure from husbands and fathers at home and pressure from patriarchal society. We demand that this pressure be reduced even further,\u201d Yaz Gulgun, 52, said.<\/p>\n
The women\u2019s day events were the first planned public demonstrations since the Kurdistan Workers\u2019 Party, or PKK, announced a ceasefire last week, bringing hope for an end to a 40-year conflict with the Turkish state.<\/p>\n
Crowds in Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey\u2019s Kurdish-majority southeast, heard a message from the group\u2019s imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan in which he said the \u201cwomen\u2019s issue is bigger than the Kurdish issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gultan Kisanak, a Kurdish politician who was released from prison last year after being convicted of terrorism charges, addressed a rally near the city center. \u201cA democratic society that does not accept women\u2019s will cannot be built. Therefore, women\u2019s struggle for freedom is the cornerstone of our people\u2019s struggle for freedom and peace,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Many women are expected to gather in the evening on the European side of Istanbul for a Feminist Night March despite a ban. In recent years, authorities have blocked efforts by women to demonstrate in Taksim Square, Istanbul\u2019s traditional gathering point for rallies.<\/p>\n
Nearby metro stations were closed from the early afternoon and streets, including one of the city\u2019s main shopping thoroughfares, were sealed off with barriers.<\/p>\n
The Beyoglu district governor\u2019s office said the ban was enforced to prevent \u201cactions that may disrupt public order and social peace.\u201d [AP]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n