Police dispersed a protest in İstanbul during which women sang their rendition of the feminist protest song “A rapist in your path,” which has attracted attention around the world after it was first performed in Chile, the Hürriyet Daily News reported.
About 300 women gathered on Sunday in the Kadıköy district of İstanbul for their version of the protest song first performed by the Chilean feminist group Las Tesis.
Seven demonstrators were detained after an intervention by the police.
The slogans shouted by the demonstrators included elements of a crime, according to an İstanbul Governor’s Office statement.
Violence against women is a widespread problem in Turkey. Women’s rights groups have blasted the Turkish government for not tackling the issue and for seeking to impose a conservative ideology that oppresses women.
Last week the murder of a young woman in the Black Sea province of Ordu became the latest in a string of similar femicides to spark nationwide outrage on Turkey’s social media.
According to figures provided by the Kadın Cinayetlerini Durduracağız Platformu (We Will Stop Femicides Platform), which keeps a tally of femicides across the country, 391 women were killed by men in Turkey in 2019.
The detainees were charged with “defying laws governing public demonstrations,” “insulting the president” and “insulting state institutions.” They were released pending trial on Monday.