Hundreds of Turkish women marched in Istanbul on Saturday (July 29) to protest against religious conservatives who feel that women dress too provocatively. The event was titled ‘Don’t Mess With My Outfit March' and saw women chanting "We will not obey, be silenced, be afraid. We will win through resistance".
The women carried hangers with denim shots, and rainbow flags. Members of the LGBTQ community had also joined in, especially after the government’s decision to ban Istanbul’s pride march in June.
The July 29 march was organised after a video of a young woman wearing shorts went viral. The woman was on a bus when a man assaulted her and shouted “Are you not ashamed of dressing like this during Ramadan?” The man had repeatedly slapped her across the jaw. He was detained, but was released at a later date, claiming that she had provoked him.
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In another incident, a nurse called Aysegul Terzi was also attacked. A man told her that women wearing shorts ‘should die’. In yet another incident, a man called a woman a 'devil' for not wearing a headscarf.
The women also marched for the right to wear their headscarves. "Don’t meddle with my headscarf, shorts, outfits,” read some posters.
The protesters have been saying that there have been more and more attacks against women for their clothing choices. President Tayyip Erdogan is from Islamist-rooted AK Party and is doing little to expand the rights of gays, women and minorities.
Turkey has been known for holding liberal views for women and the LGBTQ community. In 1923, when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk came to power, his government made several political, cultural, social changes in the nation to make it a secular state. With Prime Minister Erdoğan’s rule, these secular rights are being challenged. Turkish women are sick and tired of being criticised for what they wear. It is time to stop haranguing women for their clothing choices, whether they choose to wear a headscarf or shorts.
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Picture Credit: Reuters
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