Women Protesters "Will Not Leave the Streets"

Yesterday evening (8 March) women protesters marked International Women’s Day by reclaiming the streets of Beyoğlu.

Housewives, students, sex workers, journalists, politicians, transsexuals, teachers, homosexuals, unemployed were yesterday united in a march along Istiklal street, the pedestrian precinct in Beyoğlu, central Istanbul.

Women’s Day had been marked by protests and marches during the day, but yesterday women also walked under the slogan “We will not leave the streets.”

Exhibition on male violence

The idea for such a march originated last year, in response to police violence against women. 

On 25 November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, women had organised an exhibition on male violence in front of Galatasaray Highschool in Beyoğlu.

The women exhibited material such as a gun, a belt, a screwdriver, a fork, a kettle, a knife, a jar filled with excrement, a cellular phone, a virginity belt and a pair of tongs, all symbolising male violence.

On a board titled “It is enough to be a woman in order to be killed” were written the names of women who had been killed.

There were also photographs depicting violence against women. Approximately an hour after the exhibition was set up, the police interfered. Using physical violence in the process, they forced the exhibition’s closure, claiming it was an “unauthorised activity.”

In the evening of that day, around 300 women met and protested in Beyoğlu, and promised each other to meet there again on 8 March.

Surprise, approval, unease...

Around 500 women carried placards and shouted slogans against patriarchy, capitalism, militarism and nationalism and in support of the feminist struggle. Walking from Taksim Square to Galatasaray Highschool, they beat drums, sang songs and whistled.

bianet reporter Bawer Çakır was in Istiklal Street. He asked male onlookers about their opinions.

Murat said, “I am surprised, I didn’t know there were so many feminists in Turkey”, while Mustafa said “They are doing well, let them march.” The answers of some other men hinted at unease in the face of women raising their voices.

Against nationalism and religious conservatism

The protesters read press statements in Kurdish and Turkish in front of the highschool.

They complained about the nationalism which was poisoning the brotherhood of people, as well as about the religious conservatism which was supporting patriarchial domination.

Inequalities in labour and confinement to domestic roles

The protesters also spoke about the inequalities in labour, be it at workplaces where women earn less than men, or at home, where women are left to cope with housework. The economic crisis, so the women, was being used an excuse to fire women or keep their wages low.

“We continue to remain oppressed physically and emotionally by our fathers and husbands, forced to be responsible for food, washing dishes and clothes, rearing children and caring for the old.”

The statement also warned that the policies of denial, destruction and war towards Kurds turned into poverty, harrassment and rape for women.

Feminist candidate in Beyoğlu

The women also reminded listeners that Beyoğlu had its first independent, feminist candidate for mayor, Saime Ulfet Taylı Taş, and called on people to vote for her.

At the end of the protest, at around 8 pm, there was a call on more women to join the march in 2010. (EZÖ/BÇ/AG)

For photos of the protest click here.