Women Fill İstiklal Street at March 8 Night March

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Women have gathered in front of the French Cultural Center in İstanbul for the 15th Feminist Night March. A press statement was held at Tunnel Square where the march which began at the beginning of İstiklal Street ended.

Yesterday (March 8) evening, the street witnessed one of the broadest participations in a demonstration in the recent years.

The street was filled with women carrying hundreds of banners with different messages and slogans

Bianet's women employees at the Night March.

In the press statement held at Tunnel Square, the women Turkish Metal Union Workers who lost their lives in a bus accident while driving to Ankara to attend International Women's Day activities have been commemorated and their names have been read out: Leyla Çiçek, Refika Barışsever, Özlem İnan, Fatma Hacıoğlu, Güleydan Sezer, Elvan Mutlu and Leyla Yalçın.

Aynur Özallı was another woman who was commemorated in the press statement. Özallı was killed by her ex-husband on March 8, the International Women's Day.

Women condemned the "the attack on March 8" at Bilgi University where students, who organized a March 8 Festival in Santral Campus of Bilgi University, faced an attack by a group of men.

Another highlight in the press statement was the support on the "March 8 International Women's Strike". Women chanted the slogans of other women demonstrating in Argentina, Ire land, Mexico, Russia, Italy and South Korea: "We stop life" and "Our solidarity is our weapon".

Underlining that they again came together on the streets and stood by each other as women and trans people even under the State of Emergency, women reading the press statement chanted "No to male justice and male state! "No to our rights and freedoms being crushed and smashed!" and "No to the war and cross-border operation!" .

The press statement ended with the words "We will not leave the streets and the nights!". The march turning into a celebration with halay dance was followed by an (after) party at "the Mekan" where the Ritm Kolektif and djs Didem and Haziran took the stage. (HK/DG)

* Photographs: Haluk Kalafat