site.btaWomen's Strike Held in Ankara

A protest against violations of women's rights was held Friday in Ankara, as well as in other major cities in the country, including Ankara, Istanbul, Bursa, Izmir, Antalya, Eskisehir, Luleburgaz, Gaziantep, Diyarbakir. The protest actions were organized by the Women's Commission of the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Trade Unions DISK (DISK), one of the leading Turkish unions.

The protest in Ankara was organized in front of the Cankaya Central Municipality building.

The demonstrators of different ages held up posters with slogans such as "Women protest against violence", "Women protest for the future", "We protest for our work that goes unnoticed", "The year is not the year of the family, but the year of struggle", "If we are stopped, the world will stop".

The unionists chanted "Equality, freedom, justice".

The Ankara branch of the DISK Women's Commission told the crowd gathered in the Turkish capital that the protest is mainly aimed at the exploitation of women's labour, precarious work, low wages, gender inequality, sexual harassment, violence, and harassment in the workplace.

Among the women's demands is the annulment of the decision to withdraw Turkiye from the Istanbul Convention; an end to impunity in cases of femicide and crimes against women.

Trade unionists also demand the introduction of flexible working hours; equal representation in various government structures, etc.

On Friday, the day before March 8, International Women’s Day, women left their work and home duties and went on strike to defend their rights in the squares and on the streets. “We stand up for our right to live humanely against low pay and gender inequality. March 8 is not only a day dedicated to women, but also a day of struggle,” said Birgül Kaya, the representative of the Women's Commission at DISK for Central Anatolia.

One of the protest participants told BTA that currently "the situation for women in Turkiye is very bad". In her words, "the burden on women is very great, because they work outside, they work at home, everything is expected of them".