Riot police prevent Kurdish women’s celebration in Mersin

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Kurdish women were restricted from a social celebratory gathering in Akdeniz district of Mersin Saturday. The Square where the celebration was supposed to take place was sealed off by riot police despite pleas from Aynur Asan, BDP’s co-chair in Mersin, the event was cancelled.

In London, Kurdish women held a social gathering where they celebrated the advancement of women rights in Kurdish regions through poetry, folklore dancing and short speeches by prominent members within the Kurdish community.

Restrictions on celebrating International women’s day within Kurdish regions in Turkey does not come as a surprise. On International women’s day, semi-naked women activists protested against domestic violence in Istanbul, the Ukrainian demonstrators were quickly arrested afterwards, and have since been expelled from Turkey.

According to recent statistics, at least one woman has been killed every day in Turkey, despite new legislation which aims to tackle violence against women.