Europe | Turkey | Activism

International Women’s Day Rally in Turkey Turns Violent

Turkish police on Sunday briefly detained at least one woman and fired rubber bullets to disperse a crowd of hundreds of people trying to mark International Women's Day in central Istanbul. The group, which gathered two days before official Women's Day commemorations on March 8 in order to draw more supporters on a Sunday, had ignored a ban on the march by the Istanbul governor who scrapped this year's rally, citing security concerns. They were seeking to draw attention to women's issues in Turkey, which ranks 77th out of 138 countries on a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ind

Europe | Turkey | Activism

Pedal power gets Turkish makeover

Source: Al Monitor

The Chic Women’s Bicycle Tour kicked off Sept. 20 in 10 Turkish cities. The call for participants, made through various social media outlets, stated, “This women’s activity is organized by women for women.” The cycling activists calling themselves Suslu Kadinlar (Chic Women) described the event as “independent, commercial free, without politicians and free for all.” They invited everyone to join. The bicycle tour was held for the third time in conjunction with the annual Car Free Cities Day, an initiative organized as part of the European Union’s “Mobility Week” a

Europe | Turkey | Activism

Turkey elections mark the start of a revolution for women

Source: theguardian

“This victory is the common victory of all women of Turkey, ” Selahattin Demirtaş, co-president of the Peoples’ Democratic party (HDP), said in a television address to millions of citizens awaiting the outcome of the national elections on 7 June. As a young feminist, I was pleasantly surprised when the election results delivered a blow to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s growing authoritarianism. It’s important to be aware of the weight of Demirtaş’s words. In an environment where politicians rarely recognise women in the public sphere other than as someone’s mother, wif

Europe | Turkey | Activism

Turkish Women Are Posting Photos Of Their Backs To Protest President Erdogan

Source: BuzzFeedNews

Turkish women are posting photos of their backs to protest against their president, using the hashtag #SırtımızıDönüyoruz, which means “we’re turning our backs.” The photos are a response to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan insulting a group of women for turning their backs to him as his campaign bus drove past them on June 1, an English-language Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News reported. His remarks were widely understood in Turkey as a lewd joke implying that a woman turning around was an invitation to sex, Haldun Solmazturk, a Turkey expert for the London-based think tank