Epress.am News from Armenia
Women at the Istanbul International Women’s Meeting protested Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during his speech at the Istanbul Congress Centre. They rose to their feet and held up banners reading “More of us are being killed when you say we are not equal” and “The men’s love kills three women per day,” reports BIA News Center.
The women protested quietly. Security personnel in the hall took the banners and removed the women from the venue.
Members of the Feminist Collective stressed that 236 women were killed in the first seven months of 2010.
“Prime Minister Erdoğan continues to tell women to give birth to three children whereas he does not mention the women who died,” they criticized.
The women recalled Erdoğan’s statement made in a meeting with women organizations in Istanbul where he said, “I do not believe in gender equality.” The women questioned “Prime Minister Erdoğan’s policies to be implemented to provide safety for the life of women.”
“We do not ask Prime Minister Erdoğan to work on the women’s ‘disposition’ or on ‘how many children they should have’. We want him to fulfil his duty and prevent violence against women, oppression and discrimination. We want to hear that steps are being taken and policies are being implemented that guarantee our right to life and life safety. We want to hear that very urgently because on every day that passes with all these announcements, another three women are being killed.”
In his speech delivered at the Istanbul International Women’s Istanbul Meeting, Erdoğan once more claimed that the rights of women with and without headscarves should be defended.
“Despite our struggle, both in the name of contemporary life and modernity it does not accord with equality, humanity or conscience to have young girls removed from school because of their way to dress,” he said.
Photo: Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review