PodcastTurkish women protest Erdoğan's decision to withdraw from Istanbul Convention
Several thousand women took to the streets in Istanbul on March 27 to demand Turkey reverses its decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention. Amid a heavy police presence, protesters gathered in an Istanbul seafront square waving purple flags and chanting slogans including "Murders of women are political."
Reuters - Several thousand women took to the streets in Istanbul on March 27 to demand Turkey reverses its decision to withdraw from an international treaty against domestic abuse which it once championed.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stunned European allies with last week's announcement that Turkey was pulling out of the Istanbul Convention, named after the Turkish city where it was drafted in 2011. Turkey was one of the first signatories and women say their safety has been jeopardized by Erdoğan's move against the European treaty.
Amid a heavy police presence, protesters gathered in an Istanbul seafront square waving purple flags and chanting slogans including "Murders of women are political." One placard read, "Protect women, not the perpetrators of violence."
"Withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention is a disaster for millions of women and children living in this country," Amnesty International Turkey Director Ece Ünver told Reuters, calling on Ankara to reverse its decision.