News Center- On March 20, Turkey’s President Erdoğan issued a decree and announced that Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention protecting women and LGBTI people. Women took to the streets across Turkey to protest the decision. Members of the Mersin Women’s Platform held a march to protest the decision.

6 women fined 21.598 TL

According to reports of journalist Fatoş Sarıkaya, after the march, six members of the platform have been fined 21.598 Turkish Lira (nearly $2,700). After receiving the news, today women held a second march to protest the economic violence by Mersin Police Headquarters. “Mersin Police Headquarters thinks that it will discourage women by imposing fines on women for protesting. But we go nowhere. We don’t leave the streets,” said Çiğdem Serin, one of the six women.

“The state protects killers”

Çiğdem Serin also said that the state protects killers but builds barricades against women. “They thought they could prevent us from protesting the decision by building barricades against us.  But women's will and insistence broke their barricades. However, our response to the police, who thought they could discourage us with fines, was clear on Saturday. On Saturday, we said that we are here, we don’t go anywhere, and we don’t give up our lives and rights. We were also threatened by police in front of barricades. Their threats cannot discourage us. We will join hands and protect each other.  Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention is null and void for women.”