Istanbul, Turkey: The march was a protest against domestic violence as a demand on International Women’s Day. The crowds took to streets despite the ban on protest.
Image source: Ozan Kose/AFP
The Turkish police fired tear gas at thousands of people who gathered in central Istanbul for a march to celebrate International Women’s Day in defiance of a protest ban.
Women, who were majority of the crowd, gathered on Friday evening at the edge of the city’s Taksim Square. Hundreds of riot police then blocked their path, preventing protesters from advancing along Istiklal Avenue.
Istiklal Avenue is a area pedestrian common among shopaholics as it’s a shopping street.
Several thousands of demonstrators had been allowed into a small part of the avenue to stage the protest.
They carried banners reading “Feminist revolt against male violence and poverty” and “I was born free and I will live free”. Many of them wore purple, a colour associated with the women’s right movement.
The crowds did also sloganeer “We are not silent, we are not scared, we are not obeying” before getting trapped between two security cordons.
Videos shared on social media showed security forces pushing protesters and firing tear gas to disperse the crowd.
According to AFP news agency, police also used dogs to force the protesters down side streets.
A video was shared on social media of the Istanbul Police launching pepper gas to disperse marchers:
Source: News Agencies
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