Women vow to be on the streets till 1 July to reclaim the Istanbul Convention

Women in Istanbul gathered in Kadıköy to protest the decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, which will come into effect on 1 July.

The 'Implement the Istanbul Convention Campaign Group' protested the withdrawal by presidential decree from the Istanbul Convention. The decision will come into effect on 1 July.

Women reached Yoğurtçu Park in Kadıköy on their bikes which they had adorned with coloured scarfs, flags and placards saying ‘The Istanbul Convention is ours, we won’t give it up’.

Speaking on behalf of the Campaign Group, Selin Top reminded that 1 July is the date in which the Istanbul Convention will no longer have validity in Turkey. Top said that the government protects the perpetrators instead of protecting the women who are victims of violence.

Top noted that women came together to defend their lives and added that they will be on the streets in Istanbul and all over Turkey until 1 July and invited all women to get together in Taksim Tünel on that day.