ISTANBUL: Police arrested dozens of people at a rally to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
The unauthorised protest convened at Taksim Square, a traditional rallying point for demonstrations.
Riot police were out in force and the marchers were impeded by a series of barriers blocking the streets. “Barricades to the murderers, not to the women,” read one banner carried by protesters.
AFP reporters observed dozens of arrests. The rally, called by the “November 25 platform”, a coalition of women’s groups, brought hundreds of people on to the streets. They chanted in Turkish and Kurdish “Woman, Life, Freedom”, taking up the slogan of Iranian women in their struggle against the hard-line regime. Iran has a large diaspora in Turkey, which was estimated at 120,000 people in 2021.
One group of activists unfurled a banner in front of the police proclaiming: “For our freedom we don’t stand silent, we don’t give up on our lives, we don’t bow down to patriarchal state violence.”
Yesim Tukel, a member of the November 25 platform, said: “The police who don’t intervene against the perpetrators of violence against women or the murderers of women, closed all roads leading to Taksim under the excuse of security.” “We are not afraid of the state violence today,” said fellow activist Burcu Gulcubuk. “We are here saying that we will not bow down and we will not be silenced in face of such a violence. “One day these police who attack us will go away and these streets will be ours again.” In the face of a crackdown on most public protests, women and LGBT movements are the latest to call for large-scale demonstrations in Turkey.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said that the country has stood back on its feet and difficult...
LISBON: Ismaili Muslims said a last goodbye on Saturday to their late spiritual leader, Aga Khan IV, at a private...
ISLAMABAD: An IMF Scope Mission has been currently visiting Pakistan to assess the existing governance mechanism and...
Ag AFPNEW DELHI: India’s Hindu-nationalist ruling party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated a landslide...
ISLAMABAD: It has been decided to make foolproof security arrangements for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.The federal...
BANNU: Three members of a peace committee and two cops were martyred in separate attacks in various areas of the Bannu...
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has lauded the recent appointments and transfers of additional...
WASHINGTON: The US president’s demand to end the U.S. Agency for International Development came as the vast majority...