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ISTANBUL, Turkey - Marking International Women's Day, thousands of women poured into the streets of Istanbul on Wednesday in defiance of a ban by authorities on the European side of the city, dominating the famous Istiklal street, before a police crackdown brought the march to a violent end.
The Feminist Night March - the 21st of its kind - was banned on grounds that it would trigger uproar, destroy the peace and stability of the society and threaten the national security of Turkey.
Despite the ban, the march took place. Taksim Square and Istiklal Street were surrounded by a large number of police and barriers..
"Twenty-one years ago, when we first organized the Feminist Night March, we did not have 10 women among us. But now we have thousands of women in the field," Meric Eyupoglu, a lawyer and women rights activist among the crowd, told Rudaw’s Abdulsalam Akinci.
The women raised slogans such as "the government must resign", "women, life, freedom", "we do not obey", and "the murderous state will be held accountable".
As the march was about to end their activities by reading a statement in Turkish and Kurdish, police repeatedly interfered by throwing tear gas, also arresting a number of the protesters.
The Feminist Night March - the 21st of its kind - was banned on grounds that it would trigger uproar, destroy the peace and stability of the society and threaten the national security of Turkey.
Despite the ban, the march took place. Taksim Square and Istiklal Street were surrounded by a large number of police and barriers..
"Twenty-one years ago, when we first organized the Feminist Night March, we did not have 10 women among us. But now we have thousands of women in the field," Meric Eyupoglu, a lawyer and women rights activist among the crowd, told Rudaw’s Abdulsalam Akinci.
The women raised slogans such as "the government must resign", "women, life, freedom", "we do not obey", and "the murderous state will be held accountable".
As the march was about to end their activities by reading a statement in Turkish and Kurdish, police repeatedly interfered by throwing tear gas, also arresting a number of the protesters.
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