Nearly 200 demonstrators were detained in Istanbul following a Women’s Day march that took place under tight security, organizers claimed late Saturday night. The news was reported by AFP from Istanbul on Sunday.
Over 3,000 women took to the streets near Taksim Square in central Istanbul to mark International Women’s Day on March 8, despite longstanding restrictions on protests at the site, which is usually surrounded by barbed-wire barricades. In recent years, authorities have permitted gatherings in nearby areas under heavy security.
The Feminist Night March began at sunset, with protesters clad in purple attire and carrying banners that read slogans such as “We will not stay silent,” “We are not afraid,” “We will not obey,” and “Long live our feminist struggle.” The march concluded peacefully without any incidents.
However, organizers reported that police attempted to detain several demonstrators during the march. Video footage showed officers forcibly removing some participants from the gathering. According to the organizers’ statement on social media, the demonstrators were dispersing peacefully when police began arresting people, citing “provocative behavior.”
They claimed that nearly 200 women were wrongfully detained on March 8, though authorities have yet to release an official statement on the matter.
Earlier in the day, hundreds of protesters also gathered in Kadıköy, on the Asian side of the city, waving banners and chanting for women’s rights.
Arzu Çerkezoğlu, chairwoman of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DISK), told AFP that the march aimed to demand an end to violence against women, justice for femicide victims, and social policies that do not impose excessive caregiving burdens on women.
“We continue our March 8 struggle for democracy, equality, peace, and solidarity,” she said.
Arzu also criticized President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s 2021 decision to withdraw Turkey from the Istanbul Convention, a legally binding international treaty aimed at combating violence against women. She noted that adherence to the convention requires governments to enact and enforce legislation preventing violence and ensuring justice for victims.
Turkey does not maintain official government statistics on femicide, leaving advocacy groups to compile data from media reports. According to figures collected by the rights group We Will Stop Femicide Platform, at least 1,318 women have been killed by men since Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention in March 2021.