DAILY NEWS

Women march to protest conservative dress and harassment

Hundreds of women marched in İstanbul to protest the violence and animosity they face from men demanding that they dress more conservatively.

Women march to protest conservative dress and harassment

Hundreds of women marched in İstanbul on Saturday against the violence and animosity they face from men demanding they dress more conservatively.

The march, dubbed: “Don’t interfere in what I wear,” started in the Kadikoy district on the Asian side of the city as women chanted slogans and carried denim shorts on hangers as examples of the type of clothing some men claim to find unacceptable.

“We will not obey, be silenced, be afraid. We will win through resistance,” the crowds chanted, holding up posters and LGBT rainbow flags. Protesters said that there had been an increasing number of verbal and physical attacks on women for their choice of clothing.

In one incident in June, Asena Melisa Sağlam was attacked by a man on a bus in İstanbul for wearing shorts during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Video of the incident showed the man hitting her while the bus driver watched. “Aren’t you ashamed of dressing like this during Ramadan?” the footage showed the man asking.

Canan Kaymakçı was harassed on the street in İstanbul when a man accused her of wearing provocative clothing, warning her to be careful because she was “turning people on.”

Ayşegül Terzi was called a devil and kicked by a man on a public bus, also for wearing shorts, with footage showing the man telling her that those who wear shorts “should die.”

The march was joined by several members of the gay and transgender community, after İstanbul’s pride march was banned by authorities in late June.
Participants carried posters proclaiming: “Don’t interfere with my headscarf, shorts, clothing.”

SECURITY GUARD ASSAULTED WOMAN FOR HER CLOTHING

A private security officer of Maçka Park approached a woman, saying "I do not let you walk around in this clothing; you cannot display your breasts" and he called police officers.

A private security officer in İstanbul's Maçka Park, working for the municipality governed by the ruling AKP, late on Saturday assaulted a woman for her clothing.

Çağla Kara, the woman assaulted, talked to media and said that she was sitting at the park, reading a book with her friend during the incident. She said that the private security officer warned her for her clothing and argued that she was annoying the people around with her dress. The private security officer uttered threatening words like "you woman complain of rape and wear clothes like this", she said. She noted that the private security officer also lied about her to the police saying she displayed her breasts to the people around at the park. (EVRENSEL DAILY)


The Latest