Turkish Police Fire Rubber Bullets to Disperse Women’s Day Demonstrators

Turkish police fired rubber bullets and detained at least one woman in Istanbul on Sunday as they broke up a gathering to mark this week’s International Women’s Day.

Reuters reports that hundreds of women came out to highlight issues of domestic violence and low female participation in the workforce, despite a ban on the demonstration by Turkish authorities, who have come in for criticism from the U.N. and others for their handling of gender inequality. Plainclothes police officers reportedly manhandled the women before riot police fired rubber bullets to disperse crowd.

“You see the power of women,” protester Guris Ozen told Reuters. “We are here despite every obstacle and we will continue to fight for our cause.”

[Reuters]