Turkish police fired tear gas to disperse a group of protesters who pushed through a police cordon on Wednesday after local authorities refused to allow an International Women’s Day march, Reuters reported.

Clashes between Istanbul police and protesters for Women’s DayPhoto: Khalil Hamra / AP / Profimedia

The women whistled and chanted “We are not silent, we are not afraid, we are not bowing” as they pushed police shields, sparking clashes with police as the rest of the crowd of about 2,000 dispersed.

A protester argues with the police / PHOTO by Khalil Hamra / AP / Profimedia

Police prevented the crowd from passing through the city center after local authorities issued a statement saying they would not allow marches, protests or press statements. Local metro stations have been closed since early afternoon.

“Resignation of the government,” the crowds chanted during the protest. “We are angry, we are in mourning, we are in a feminist uprising,” read a large banner held up in front of the crowd.

The event comes just over two months before an election expected to be President Tayyip Erdogan’s biggest electoral challenge. It also comes just over a month after devastating earthquakes in southern Turkey killed more than 52,000 people.

International Women’s Day in the world

On Wednesday, International Women’s Day rallies were held around the world, focusing on Afghanistan, where girls have been denied the right to an education, and Iran, where mass protests for women’s rights have taken place in recent months.

In the Americas, reproductive rights have been a key issue since the US Supreme Court last June overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that recognized women’s constitutional right to abortion, and abortions have been severely restricted or banned in most Latin American countries. America.

Activists donned the color purple and staged demonstrations around the world, from Jakarta and Singapore to Istanbul and Berlin to Caracas and Mexico City.

In Manila, activists demanding equal rights and higher wages clashed with the police, who blocked their action. “Girls just want basic rights…” reads one poster.

In Paris, demonstrators demanded higher pensions for women who work part-time, and in Tel Aviv women formed human chains to protest a judicial review that they say will affect civil liberties.

Many of the protests included calls for solidarity with women in Iran and Afghanistan.

“Taliban-ruled Afghanistan remains the most repressive country in the world in terms of women’s rights, and it has been disturbing to watch their methodical, targeted and systematic efforts to push Afghan women and girls out of the public sphere,” said Roza Otunbayeva, head of the organization. UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

In London, protesters marched to the Iranian embassy wearing costumes inspired by the novel and TV series The Handmaid’s Tale, and in Valencia, Spain, women cut their hair in support of Iranian women. The death last September of 23-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of Tehran’s moral police sparked the largest anti-government protests in Iran in recent years.

Women’s Day is celebrated in Bucharest

And in Bucharest, dozens of women took to the streets, demanding the right to abortion and access to reproductive health, as well as sex education.

  • “Today we take to the streets to condemn any initiative that leads to the restriction of public abortion services on demand and the violation of the right to decide one’s own body. We are taking to the streets to draw attention to the devastating effects such measures can have on women’s integrity and independence, as well as on families, communities and society at large.
  • We are taking to the streets to sound the alarm about the large number of underage mothers in Romania. The situation is complicated by the fact that many cases are the result of sexual abuse, grooming and pedophilia.
  • We are taking to the streets to say again and again that sex education is important to prevent unwanted pregnancy among teenage girls and not only that, but also to fight sexism, against the belief that men should dominate and own women. We are taking to the streets to demand our rights, because if we don’t come out, no one will come out,” is part of the reason why the rally in Bucharest was organized, according to the Facebook page of the NGO Feminism Romania.