Riot police in Turkey used pepper spray to disperse a crowd of several thousand women in central Istanbul gathered Tuesday for a march to celebrate International Women’s Day. The police officers also used their shields to push back protesters, who continued to press against the police.
The demonstrators were calling for new legislation to prevent violence against women, including by their own family members. The women attempted to hold the gathering despite the fact that local authorities had said earlier in the week that it would not allow marches or gatherings to mark the day and had blocked off Istanbul’s main Taksim square with metal barricades.
Police detained at least 38 women during the march. Previous year’s protests also were dispersed by police in a similar manner. Turkey withdrew last year from a European treaty on combating violence against women, leading to similar protests. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to institute judicial reforms to curb acts of violence against women.