Today: 31 May 2025
3 July 2021
2 mins read

Protest flares up as Turkey quits treaty protecting women

Thousands of women protesters gathered on the Istiklal Avenue, chanting slogans against country’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention…reports Asian Lite News

Thousands of people took to the street on Thursday to denounce Turkey’s withdrawal from an international treaty designated to combat violence against women.

Large scale demonstration was witnessed after Turkey formally pulled out from the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, also known as Istanbul Convention, Al Jazeera reported.

Demonstrators clashed with police who fired tear gas in the country’s biggest city Istanbul. Women protesters gathered on the Istiklal Avenue, carrying banners and chanting slogans against the government. The police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters, preventing them from proceeding toward the iconic Taksim square.

In March, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a decree annulling the country’s ratification of the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention, which states that men and women have equal rights and obliges state authorities to take steps to prevent gender-based violence against women, protect victims and prosecute perpetrators.

ALSO READ: ‘Turkey not sending troops to secure Kabul airport’

The convention seeks to prevent violence against women, including domestic violence, and bring an end to legal impunity for perpetrators.”The Istanbul Convention withdrawal will empower the perpetrators of violence while making the victims more powerless. So we have to take on the protection work that the authorities should do,” Gulsum Kav, Turkish feminist activist, told Al Jazeera.

Turkey’s shameful withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention will put millions of women and girls at greater risk of violence, Amnesty International said.

“President Erdogan’s announcement of the decision to quit the landmark treaty on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence will go down in history as the first time a Council of Europe member has withdrawn from an international human rights convention,” it added.

Erdogan said his country’s domestic regulations are sufficient to combat violence against women, Xinhua reported. Turkish President Erdogan on Thursday announced a new action plan for combating violence against women. “Just like our fight against violence toward women did not start with the Istanbul Convention, it will not end by withdrawing from this convention,” he said. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Pakistan and Turkey’s selective support to Muslim causes

ALSO READ: Libya, Turkey bolster security ties

Previous Story

China Targets Uyghurs Living Abroad To Suppress Protest

Next Story

PEW STUDY: Xi Dents China’s Image Abroad

Latest from -Top News

World needs Dubai’s ambition: Morgan

Piers Morgan has hailed Dubai’s transformation as an example of what visionary leadership can achieve. British broadcaster Piers Morgan has praised the extraordinary ambition and vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin

Mohammed honours football champions

Ruler of Dubai hails players as role models during palace reception His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, received the

Abu Dhabi sets 2050 energy vision

Abu Dhabi unveils AED400 billion energy roadmap, inked climate finance pact ahead of 2026 UN Water Conference Abu Dhabi has unveiled a sweeping strategic framework to transform its energy and water sector

Gargash: UAE’s pragmatism sets regional example

Anwar Gargash says the UAE stands as a beacon of what is possible when pragmatism and vision come together. As political instability, economic fragmentation and rapid technological change continue to reshape the

US flag returns to Damascus

Billions in energy deals and lifted sanctions mark Syria’s reintegration, as US reopens embassy and declares the war-torn nation “open for business” under new regional partnerships. The United States has reopened its
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Women entrepreneurs discuss role in investment community

Women entrepreneurs start businesses at a rate 1.5x higher than

‘UAE, Turkey to establish new era of sustainable growth’

Özyeğin stressed that the UAE is the key trading partner