JINHA

ISTANBUL – Istanbul's 13^th Feminist Night March brought thousands of women into the street for a boisterous night march throughout the evening of International Women's Day, called by the Istanbul Feminist Collective.

Accompanied by whistles, trumpets, traditional erbane drums and echoing ululations, the women marched through Istanbul's central Taksim district.A purple banner declaring, "we're taking control of our lives," led the noisy march.

Signs called attention to the AKP's role in protecting women's murders. "Shake off, shake off, shake off men" chanted the women. "We won't give up the night, we won't give up the streets, we won't give up the square," they said as they marched from the French Consulate to Tünel, in Istanbul's central Taksim district.

Feride Eralp spoke in Kurdish and BegümAcar in Turkish to announce that this year, women were once again in the streets and would continue to be in the streets. They said that the AKP's proposed "family law" as a supposed solution in the wake of the murder and rape of university student ÖzgecanAslan was just another manifestation of the state's hatred of women.

"We're not fooled by these lies. We're struggling to have the life we want," they said. In spite of the backlash against efforts to have sexual identity recognized in the constitution, they said, LGBTQ and trans women were continuing to struggle to exist and to fight back against murders of trans people.

The AKP, they said, was terrified of women's becoming organized. The women of the YPJ, fighting not just against Daesh but against patriarchy across the Middle East, were an inspiration for women in resistance.

"Let them come and attack feminism and try to stop the fight against patriarchy. We're only strengthening our feminist struggle."

(ed-mt/dc)