Turkey: A tale of two Women’s Day rallies

Two rallies took place in Istanbul on 8th March, international women?s day, each one with a very different flavour. One of them seemed more concerned about protesting against the headscarf than asking for women?s rights.

Caglayan: Nationalism, not women's rights
Rally number one took place on the ?European side? of Istanbul, in Caglayan. According to the Radikal newspaper, around 10,000 people attended. Nilüfer Zengin from bianet news was also there. This was her impression.

?Sevim Zarif was killed by her former husband, Güldünya Tören was killed by her brothers for becoming pregnant by her cousin?s husband, trainee doctor Ayse Yilbas was killed by her husband?these women and many others did not attend the Caglayan rally.?

According to Zengin the Caglayan rally seemed to be a ?less crowded Republican rally?, with the main issue being a protest against the headscarf. The rally started with a minute of silence for the ?martyrs?, i.e. the soldiers who have died fighting the Kurdistan Workers? Party (PKK), and the national anthem was sung.

Some women were holding banners that read: Just like our flags, our hair will blow freely. Zengin commented: ?How does that work? Women?s hair and the flag? Stop using the female body as an object for your national fantasies!? . If there were any, Zengin missed the reference to ?working women, violence against women, women?s shelters, the male judiciary and the ?provocation? reductions in punishments for men killing women".

Kadiköy: Focus on social issues
Meanwhile, there was a different kind of rally on the ?Asian side? of Istanbul, in Kadiköy. Emine Özcan attended the rally for bianet news. This is what she had to say.

?Around 3,5000 women marched to the Kadiköy ferry jetty, carrying different banners, playing drums, singing songs and shouting slogans.? No men were accepted at the rally, at which there were strong reactions to a recent comment by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had advised women to have three children. Women shouted slogans telling Erdogan to ?breed himself.?

Women further protested against the cross-border operations, murders committed in the name of ?honour?, violence directed at women, the recent murder of Ayse Yilbas, as well as the planned reform of the social security and health security law.
The protesters further demanded that the constitution be amended to guarantee equality before the law irrespective of sexual orientation.

The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) was strongly represented and women called for peace. Özcan said: ?Compared to previous years, there were many young women at the rally. When the crowd arrived at the square in Kadiköy there were messages of support for worker women read from a stage, a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish question was demanded, and Turkish and Kurdish songs were played.?

Trade unions, parties of the left and NGOs
The Kadiköy rally was also attended by the Collaboration (Imece) Women, the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers? Trade Unions (DISK), the Trade Union for Public Employers (KESK), the Assocation of Labour Women (EKD), the Trade Union of Students and Youth (Genc Sen), the Socialist Democracy Party (SDP), the DTP, the gay rights group Lambdainstanbul, the Feminist Collective, Student Collectives, the trade union for textile workers (Tekstil Sen), the Global Action Group, the Labour Party (EMEP) and the Peace Mothers.

More info:
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