Ahead of International Women's Day (March 8), hundreds gathered in Istanbul to protest against gender-based violence and the Turkish government's response to the earthquake last month.

The group were heard chanting "government resign" on March 5.

Nevruz Tuğçe Özçelik, a member of the March 8 Platform, said: "Do you know what the crime is? The crime is to send the women back to their homes when they run away from the men they are subjected to violence and come to the police station.

"What's the crime, you know? It is condoning a woman to be beaten and killed to death because she is trans. What's the crime, you know? It is giving children into the hands of congregations and sects.”

Another protester said: "Those who massacred tens of thousands of people under the rubble due to measures not taken, left hundreds of thousands of people under the rubble to die because of the aid they did not send.

"The state, which did not take vital steps in the first days of the earthquake, is trying to prevent the solidarity that we women have with the women living in the earthquake area.

"We know these attacks from the annulment of the Istanbul Convention overnight, the attempt to close women's institutions that fight for women's freedom, the trustees appointed to women's institutions and their will, the torture and detention of women who went out on the streets on 25 November, 8 March and 1 May.”

This footage was filmed and produced 5 March 2023.

Women and LGBTI+s in Istanbul met in Kadıköy before the 8 March International Working Women's Day. Hundreds of people gathered in Pier Square on Rıhtım Avenue to protest male violence and the state's policies towards women. The rally was organized by the "We Will Stop Femicide Platform" and the "8 March Platform". Stating that women in the earthquake area were also challenged by the state, the women chanted "Government resign". Bilge Seçkin Çetinkaya, a member of the "Workers Party of Turkey", read the joint press statement.

Interview translations:
01:21:28 - 01:57:01
Nevruz Tuğçe Özçelik, a member of the 8 March Platform: “Do you know what the crime is? The crime is to send the women back to their homes when they run away from the men they are subjected to violence and come to the police station. What's the crime, you know? It is condoning a woman to be beaten and killed to death because she is trans. What's the crime, you know? It is giving children into the hands of congregations and sects.”

02:51:30 - 03:44:18
Bilge Seçkin Çetinkaya: “Those who massacred tens of thousands of people under the rubble due to measures not taken, left hundreds of thousands of people under the rubble to die because of the aid they did not send. The state, which did not take vital steps in the first days of the earthquake, is trying to prevent the solidarity that we women have with the women living in the earthquake area. We know these attacks from the annulment of the Istanbul Convention overnight, the attempt to close women's institutions that fight for women's freedom, the trustees appointed to women's institutions and their will, the torture and detention of women who went out on the streets on 25 November, 8 March and 1 May.”