Women in Taksim: Not One Less

Thousands of women joined the march organised in Taksim by the 25 November Women's Platform. The women said loud and clear: "We cannot tolerate to lose another person".

Thousands of women flocked to Taksim Tunnel Square to join the march organised by the 25 November Women's Platform and shouted, 'We can't tolerate to lose another person'.

HDP deputies Züleyha Gülüm, Dilşat Canbaz, Oya Ersoy as well as political and democratic women's organisation representatives joined the women who turned Istiklal Street purple despite the heavy presence of police.

Many women were dressed as clown to pay tribute to Chile, pantomime artist Daniela Carrasco who was raped and murdered by the police.

Women chanted slogans and protested the attempt by police to delayed the march with arbitrary blockades.

The statement on behalf of the Women's Platform was read in Turkish and Kurdish.

Irem Gerkuş read the statement in Turkish and began by reading the names of the women who were massacred by men. Gerkuş summarized the gravity of the situation saying: "To see the name of a woman among the social media tags has become a bad sign. It means that she is either not alive or that she could not find justice despite the terrible violence she suffered. We are here for a world where women's names are news, not of death but of life, not of violence, but of dreams they have achieved."

Underlining that they do not tolerate the murder of a woman more Gerkuş, reminded that women are killed every day. 

Stressing that women were massacred every day for not applying the Istanbul Convention and law 6284, Gerkuş said: "Under the mentality of marriage of children under the age of 15, women are subjected to sexual violence. They are subjected to violence every day due to the hatred of gender identity, sexual orientation, and because of transphobia and homophobia."

Every day, Gerkuş added, "women are subjected to the violence of war and border."

Gerkuş called for an increase in the struggle.

After the statement, women started to dance but police began to attack the demonstration.