Turkish women protest price hikes with pots and pans

Duvar English 

As per the call of the Women's Assemblies (Kadın Meclisleri), several women on Feb. 13 gathered in Istanbul's Kadıköy district and protested the recent price hikes with pots and pans.

"Come, come, come, come, come to be equal and free, Let's walk together, you never walk alone. You will never walk alone," the women chanted. 

The police blocked the women from entering the protest area, regarding their pots and pans as "wounding elements." 

Despite the police's intervention, the women continued with their demonstration, dancing between the police barricades. 

"They are trying to limit all of our areas. There is no such thing in the law about the banning of pots and pans; those who ban pots and pans today will ban us from going on the streets tomorrow," said Fidan Ataselim, the Secretary General of Women's Assemblies, during the protest. 

Ataselim also drew attention to the strikes that have been launched in recent days in many workplaces. 

Ataselim said that women are suffering more during this period and that many of them have been left unemployed or are unable to receive "equal pay for equal work."

The hikes in electricity and natural gas last month drew criticism from many groups.

Protests against the price hikes were held in various provinces of Turkey last week. Shopkeepers and restaurant owners are speaking out over surging energy bills, with some having posted notices on windows showing ballooning electricity bills.

For some businesses, electricity bills tripled within a month. Enterprises are saying that they can no longer cope with the exorbitant prices and have come to the point of bankruptcy.

Inflation leaped to near 50% in January, raising the cost of living for Turks who are already struggling to make ends meet.