Turkish women take to the streets to demand equality
Activists say 15 years of rule by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has eroded women’s rights, even as he has vowed to end domestic violence and strengthen the role of women in Turkish society.
![WOMENS-DAY/TURKEY Activists hold balloons with a banner reading "Peace" as they march at the main shopping and pedestrian street of Istiklal during a rally on the International Women's Day in Istanbul, Turkey March 8, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1D2B73D500](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2018/03/RTS1MR9D.jpg/RTS1MR9D.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=ATrSSnvq)
Thousands of women marched in central Istanbul today to demand an end to violence and greater equality with men in a country lagging behind its European neighbors in most benchmarks.
“We won’t shut up, we are not afraid, we won’t obey,” the crowd chanted, waving signs that read “When women jump, it’s a revolution,” joining worldwide commemorations from Afghanistan to Iceland on International Women’s Day, which celebrates women's rights.