Police try to disperse a march marking International Women’s Day in Istanbul March 8, 2019.
Police then used tear gas on the marchers and menaced them with dogs, causing many protesters to flee onto side streets. One woman, called Ulker, speaking to AFP from behind a barrier, said: “Here is the bitter truth: There is a system, there is a state that is scared of us. I condemn this.”Thousands of demonstrators were eventually allowed into a small part of the avenue to stage the protest.
The crowds then became trapped between two security cordons and were subsequently dispersed by the police using tear gas. The issue was highlighted on Thursday when Turkish pop singer Sila went to court to accuse her boyfriend Ahmet Kural, a famous actor, of beating her.