Dozens of women gather in Eskişehir park to protest 'yoga ban'

Photos: Eskşehir Committees for Women's Solidarity

Dozens of women on Monday (May 30) gathered in the Dede Korkut Park in Eskişehir, central Turkey, after a group of women were prevented from doing yoga in the park a day before.

On Sunday, private security officers in the park prevented the women from doing yoga, citing a complaint filed with the Presidency Communications Center (CİMER).

Kazım Kurt, the mayor of Odunpazarı district, criticized the ban on Twitter, saying, "What is the reason? Is this a joke? Dear friends, all of our parks are yours. You can do yoga freely."

The park is under the authority of the governor's office, which contracted the Turkish World Foundation to operate it.

The foundation relased a statement on Sunday on Twitter after a public backlash against the ban, saying that mass events in the park are subject to permission and the women were prevented "in order to preserve the principle of equal opportunity" after complaints by other visitors.

The governor's office retweeted the foundation's tweets.

#yoga #eskisehir #kadındayanışması pic.twitter.com/HnlWF7EPme

— Eskişehir Kadın Dayanışma Komiteleri (@EskisehirKdk) May 30, 2022

"Reactionism"

The Eskşehir Committees for Women's Solidarity, which organized Monday's protest, shared photos on Twitter with the message "Long live our struggle for secularism, freedom and equality."

Interviewed by Sol news portal, several women who attended the protest complained about growing "reactionism" in the city.

"If we don't give an answer to the mentality that prevents us from doing yoga, they will poke their noses into our shorts or women and men hanging out together," said a woman.

"Reactionism, bigotry and political Islam are permeating every aspect of our lives day by day," said another woman, adding that there have been "systematic attacks" in the city, citing a recent festival ban.

In early May, the governor's office banned a youth music festival after some religious communities deemed it "immoral."

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At around the same time, some groups distributed leaflets containing quotes from early Islamic scholars about how should LGBTI+s be killed. "Stoning to death" was among the methods suggested.

Eskişehir, known as a "student city" in Turkey, has been considered a safe space by the country's LGBTI+ community.

"I am a student. I encounter the officials whom I can't find when I'm harassed on the streets when I do yoga," said a woman. "The duty of these people shouldn't be interfering with my sports and entertainment, it should be ensuring my safety." (VK)