Women’s march in Istanbul marked by police violence and detentions on March 8 · Global Voices
Sevgi Yagmur Bulut

Protestors of the Feminist Night March gather in central Istanbul in Beşiktaş. Photo by Sevgi Yağmur Bulut, used with permission.
Since March 2003, Turkish women rights activists have established a tradition of holding a Feminist Night March every March 8 in Istanbul to mark international women's day. This year, the event, which traditionally takes places at the landmark central Taksim Square ended with several women being detained, as the city government refused to allow the demonstration.
On the evening of March 8, the city government of Istanbul stated that all roads leading to Taksim Square and nearby İstiklal Avenue would be closed due to ‘unauthorized demonstrations and calls for a march’. Ignoring the warning, women activists nevertheless maintained their decision to walk to Taksim, and started gathering in different locations.
The first meeting point was in Beşiktaş in central Istanbul, where supporters of the local organization We Will Stop The Femicide Platform met. They were carrying pictures of women killed by men, and banners with different messages such as  ‘Stop the femicide’, ‘You will never walk alone’. Some also displayed the sentence ‘I don't want to die’, which were the last words of Emine Bulut, a woman who was killed by her husband in front of her daughter, and became an emblem of the movement. As members of families in which a woman had died in the hands of men spoke, the crowd supported them with the slogan ‘You will never walk alone':
?#8M20
During the day, women in Istanbul first held a gathering in Beşiktaş for #InternationalWomensDay prior to Feminist Night March in Taksim.#dokuz8/@syagmurbulutpic.twitter.com/YeiPqCXyre
— dokuz8NEWS (@dokuz8news) March 8, 2020
On the Asian side of Istanbul, in Kadıköy, another group of women met to sing songs and dance. As one netizen wrote:
Kadınlara bir bakın. Dil, din, yönelim, siyasi görüş ayırt etmeden, rengarenk, neşeli, bir arada.
Şimdiden yolları tutmaya başlayıp Taksim’de yürütmemeye and içtiğiniz, muhtemelen de birkaç saat sonra gaza boğacağınız kadınlar bunlar.
İlişmeseniz öyle güzeliz ki. #8Mart pic.twitter.com/B55I4PrnhK
— Ayşen Şahin (@temcikterelelli) March 8, 2020
Look at those women. No matter what their language, religion, orientation is, they are colorful and cheerful. You have already closed roads and pledged not to let them go to Taksim. These are the women you will drown in tear gas in a few hours. We are so beautiful without you.
By 6 PM on March 8, demonstrators started to walk towards Taksim Square.
Taksim’de 8 Mart ablukası: Her yer bariyerlerle çevrildihttps://t.co/t6mxwJUQBd pic.twitter.com/XerTA7sQJV
— Tele1 TV (@tele1comtr) March 8, 2020
Blockade of March 8 in Taksim: Everywhere we are surrounded by barriers
As they tried to reach İstiklal Avenue which leads to the square, the police took action and sprayed them with tear gas, using their shields to push the group out of the streets.
#8Mart için Taksim'e yürümek isteyenlere kalkanlarla, tekmelerle müdahale!
Feminist Gece Yürüyüşü için Taksim'e çıkmak isteyen kadınlara polis böyle müdahale etti #8MartDünyaKadınlarGünü #8M2020 pic.twitter.com/QyJL8ro6hn
— Yol TV (@YolTV) March 8, 2020
Shields and kicks for those who want to walk to Taksim for #March8! The police intervened against women who wanted to go to Taksim for the Feminist Night Walk
Given that access was denied, groups of demonstrators changed direction, shouting ‘ So we are scattering all over Istanbul’ and went to nearby Karaköy square.
#FeministGeceYürüyüşü‘ne İstiklal Caddesi'nde izin verilmeyince, binlerce kadın “O halde İstanbul'un her yerine dağılıyoruz” diyerek yürüyüşe geçti.
Karaköy'e doğru yürüyen kadınlar araç yolunu trafiğe kapattı.#8M2020 pic.twitter.com/RXxMTZUFGt
— KarşıMahalle (@KarsiMahalleOrg) March 8, 2020
When the Feminist Night Walk was not allowed on İstiklal Avenue, thousands of women said “So we are scattering all over İstanbul instead.” Women walking towards Karaköy blocked the road.
#8m ’ta Karaköy’de kaç kişiydik diye soran olursa fotoğrafları gösterirsiniz :) #FeministGeceYürüyüşü pic.twitter.com/3gaXV9HxJD
— 8MartFeministYürüyüş (@8MartYuruyus) March 8, 2020
If you have been asked how many people were in Karaköy, you can show those photos
Since some women insisted on getting access to Taksim Square, the police made arrests, and a total of 34 women were detained.
#FeministGeceYürüyüşü #8M2020 #8martdunyakadinlargunu ? @kemal_aslan pic.twitter.com/EZ8qcR8Mjo
— Kemal ASLAN (@kemal_aslan) March 8, 2020
Some of the arrests were violent, as can be seen on images showing them being dragged by their hair:
Kadınlar polisin gaz bombalı saldırısına rağmen dağılmıyorhttps://t.co/fjex0RzBI6 pic.twitter.com/ryEo3ieJtK
— Tele1 TV (@tele1comtr) March 8, 2020
Women are not leaving despite the police using tear gas
Taksim'deki 8 Mart #FeministGeceYürüyüşü‘ne polis müdahalesinde 34 kişi gözaltına alındı
Filmmor'un paylaşıma göre, polisin müdahalesinin ardından gözaltına alınan 34 kişinin, ifadelerinin alınmak üzere Vatan Emniyet Müdürlüğü'ne götürüldüğü belirtildi. (?@muratbuyukyilmz) pic.twitter.com/m5XDubbxfg
— Yol TV (@YolTV) March 8, 2020
34 people were detained in Taksim on 8 March # FeministNightWalk. According to Filmmor [ a media organization for women], 34 people were detained after the intervention of the police, and were taken to the police headquarters to provide their testimony.
Taksim'de kadınlar saçlarından sürüklenerek gözaltına alınıyor! pic.twitter.com/MQ0nx2FK3S
— zülâl koçer (@zulalkocr) March 8, 2020
Women are detained and being dragged by their hair in Taksim
On March 9, the demonstrators were informed that all had been released.
8 Mart’ta gözaltına alınan kadınlar serbest bırakıldıhttps://t.co/bvvZP7BuXE#8Mart #FeministGeceYürüyüşü #kadın #gözaltı #pazartesi pic.twitter.com/WUAqHGX6a7
— A3 Haber (@A3Haber) March 9, 2020
Women detained on 8 March were released
One of the most popular banners of March 8 read “Remember this crowd if you sink into despair, because you will never walk alone”, which emphasis solidarity among women and the hope for a better future. It also circulated on social media among women:
Umutsuzluğa kapılırsan, bu kalabalığı hatırla?#FeministGeceYürüyüşü pic.twitter.com/q58jxvNcM5
— Toplumsal Eşitlik Platformu (@TEPlatformu) March 8, 2020
8 mart 2020’yi asla unutmuycam, “umutsuzluğa kapılırsam bu kalabalığı hatırlıycam.” pic.twitter.com/JbaxvD92wc
— Bahar Çuhadar (@baharca) March 9, 2020
I will never forget March 8, 2020, “I will remember this crowd if I sink into despair.
The government, meanwhile, conducted its official ceremony of marking women's international day. While women were fighting the police on the streets, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan distributed flowers to selected women during ‘Turkey's Hero Women’ Program, saying:
?Erdoğan: Kadını insan değil meta olarak gören, sırf cinsiyeti yüzünden eziyet eden hiçbir toplumun geleceği aydınlık olamaz!
? #FeministGeceYürüyüşü‘ne polis saldırdı. En az 30 kadın gözaltına alındı. Kadınlar gözaltına alınırken yerlerde sürüklendi! #8M2020 pic.twitter.com/OtiULcVKlT
— Hergele Postası (@HergelePostasi) March 8, 2020
Erdoğan: The future of a society that sees women as commodities cannot be bright. We do not want to experience a mentality of ignorance that buries girls alive. Yet some societies still act so.
Police attacked #FeministNightWalk. At least 30 women were detained. Women pushed to the ground floor while detained