ISTANBUL (Reuters) – About 1,000 women gathered near Istanbul’s main Taksim Square on Monday, protesting what they see as a lack of action by authorities to prevent and punish violence against women in a country where rates of femicide have increased in recent years.
Protesters, mostly women carrying purple flags with women and LGBTI + posters and wearing purple masks with the words “Let’s win our freedom”, gathered on a main street after the police closed the entrances to Taksim Square on International Women’s Day. Woman.
The police women stood arm in arm at the end of the street, blocking the entrance to the square, while behind them were fences, police with riot gear and trucks with water cannons.
“Women are very strong and are afraid of that. They should block the killers, not us, ”said Ipek Deniz, a 36-year-old nurse who participated in the protests.
The rate of femicide almost doubled between 2011 and 2019, according to a group that monitors murders of women, who also said that so far, in 2021, 51 women have been murdered and another 26 have died under suspicious circumstances.
Turkey does not maintain official statistics on femicide.
Over the weekend, a video showing a woman getting punched and kicked in the head by her ex-husband on the street in northern Turkey sparked outrage on social media. The suspect was detained, according to the media, while the woman was admitted to the hospital.
Speaking at a congress of the AK Party women’s wing, President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would establish a committee in parliament to address issues related to violence against women.
“We hear that there are those who demand that girls leave their parents’ homes as soon as possible. Turkey is going to somehow solve the problem of violence against women, the real threat is that mentality is taking root, ”he said.
The protester around Taksim shouted “Feminicide is political” and “Life is ours, the choice is ours, the streets are ours, you can keep your family”.
“We are oppressed by male power every day. Female murderers are rewarded for not being punished, ”said Sumeyye Kose, a 21-year-old student.
“We are here against the increase in violence, against systematic LGBTI phobia, against femicide. We will win, ”she said.
Written by Ali Kucukgocmen; Steve Orlofsky edition