NOVANEWS
A woman shouts slogans during a demostration in Istanbul against the murder of a young woman named Ozgecan Aslan.
Some protesters stated that the issue was not “just another crime,” but a result of “systemic misogynist state policy.”
Hundreds of Turkish citizens marched in the streets of Mersin Saturday, a coastal city in the southeast of the country where 20-year-old student Özgecan Aslan was murdered in a bus driving her to school after resisting a rape attempt.
The protest started at Aslan’s funeral in Mersin when hundreds of women refused to remain in the back as ordered, but marched in the front instead carrying the coffin during the ceremony. In the two other main cities of the country, Ankara and Istanbul, demonstrations were also held with women carrying pictures of Aslan and other victims of gender violence. In the famous Taksim Square in Istanbul, they chanted, “You will never walk alone!”
On Feb. 11, a bus driver attempted to rape Aslan as she was on her way to university. She was the last passenger on board, apart from the driver’s father and his friend. While fighting against her assailant with pepper spray, she was stabbed to death and burned, according to her autopsy which was released after the three men were arrested.
Turkish women argued during the protest that this was not “just another criminal incident,” but a result of a systematic misogynist state policy, referring to recent conservative statements by government officials about womens’ rights – including their dressing style.
They also denounced that men found guilty of rape would only receive a minimum sentence, as rape is recognized as an act incited by women. In November, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that women were not equal to men. He also suggested restricting access to abortion and the day-after pill, stating that Turkish women should have three children.
The protest started at Aslan’s funeral in Mersin when hundreds of women refused to remain in the back as ordered, but marched in the front instead carrying the coffin during the ceremony. In the two other main cities of the country, Ankara and Istanbul, demonstrations were also held with women carrying pictures of Aslan and other victims of gender violence. In the famous Taksim Square in Istanbul, they chanted, “You will never walk alone!”
On Feb. 11, a bus driver attempted to rape Aslan as she was on her way to university. She was the last passenger on board, apart from the driver’s father and his friend. While fighting against her assailant with pepper spray, she was stabbed to death and burned, according to her autopsy which was released after the three men were arrested.
Turkish women argued during the protest that this was not “just another criminal incident,” but a result of a systematic misogynist state policy, referring to recent conservative statements by government officials about womens’ rights – including their dressing style.
They also denounced that men found guilty of rape would only receive a minimum sentence, as rape is recognized as an act incited by women. In November, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that women were not equal to men. He also suggested restricting access to abortion and the day-after pill, stating that Turkish women should have three children.
