Female protesters trying to cross the shields of the police as they march to Taksim Square during a rally marking the International Women’s Day in Istanbul, Turkey, 08 March 2022. International Women’s Day is celebrated globally on 08 March to promote women’s rights and equality. Photo: EPA-EFE/TOLGA BOZOGLU Turkish Women Defy Tear Police Obstruction to March for RightsHamdi Firat BuyukSarajevoBIRNMarch 9, 202210:28 Police tear gas and barricades failed to deter tens of thousands of Turkish women from marching in Istanbul and other cities on International Women’s Day.
Turkish police fired tear gas and set up barricades to stop women taking part in the 20th Feminist Night Walk on March 8 – the first such walk after Turkey in 2021 officially exited the Istanbul Convention, a European treaty on women’s rights and domestic violence.
“We will continue to be on the squares despite all the obstructions,” Kadın Meclisleri, one of the main organisers of the Feminist Night Walk, said on Twitter.
The protestors condemned the government’s decision to exit from the 2011 Council of Europe treaty on violence against women and femicide.
According to media, dozens of people were detained in Istanbul, Antalya and other cities. Police tried to stop protesters with barricades and other security measures from entering Istanbul’s iconic Istiklal Street, the traditional site of women’s protests.
Protesters could not reach Istiklal Street but gathered in a nearby location, overcoming the police barricades erected in several streets and alleys.
The government banned protesters from Istiklal Street, and all subway and bus routes there and to Taksim neighbourhood on March 8 were cancelled.
“The problem is not women’s gatherings. The problem is they gather in Taksim,” Derya Yanik, the Minister for Family and Social Services, told a TV interview on Tuesday, not giving details of the reason for the ban.
Femicide and violence against women remain major problems in Turkey. So far this year, at least 73 women were killed by men; 418 women were killed by men in 2021 and 413 in 2020.
The Council of Europe’s Convention on Combating Violence Against Women was opened for signatures in May 2011 in Istanbul.
Turkey was the first country that ratified the treaty, but Islamist and conservative critics claimed that it undermined traditional family values, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan then withdrew the country from the treaty, which came into force on July 1 that year.
Repeated calls for Turkey’s return to the convention have been dismissed by the government.
Protesters trying to cross police barriers as they march to Taksim Square for a rally marking International Women’s Day in Istanbul, March 8, 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/TOLGA BOZOGLU
Mainly women protesters march to Taksim Square during a rally marking International Women’s Day in Istanbul, March 8, 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/TOLGA BOZOGLU
A woman lies on the ground as protesters clash with police as they march to Taksim Square for a rally marking International Women’s Day in Istanbul, March 8, 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/SEDAT SUNA
Turkish police use pepper spray as they clash with female protesters marching to Taksim Square for a rally marking International Women’s Day in Istanbul, March 8, 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/SEDAT SUNA
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