Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Kyrgyzstan arrest women's rights activists on International Women's Day

Police officers detained an activist during a rally held to support women’s rights and to protest against violence towards women in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku.
Activists across the globe took to the streets to demand equal rights and protest against gender-based violence on International Women’s Day, which is marked each year on 8 March.
A few dozen women who trying to march in central Istanbul were dispersed when the Turkish police used tear gas and formed a human blockade to stop them from marching.
“All roads leading to Taksim Square and Istiklal Street will be closed as these places are not classified as designated areas for assembly and demonstrations according to law”, the office of Istanbul’s governor Ali Yerlikaya said in a statement.
The governor decided to close down all roads leading to the main square. On last year’s International Women’s Day, the police had also fired tear gas to break up a crowd of activists.
The situation was the most dramatic, however, in Kyrgyzstan, where demonstrators were assaulted by unidentified masked men in the country’s capital, Bishkek.
Police said they had detained dozens of demonstration organizers and participants, as well as suspected attackers. It explained the demonstration had not been approved by the government and that protesters were detained for their own safety.
Earlier, the country has banned demonstrations in downtown Bishkek until 1 July as a measure against the coronavirus, although it does not have any confirmed cases.
Kyrgyzstan has a widespread practice of bride kidnapping which often leads to marital rape and domestic violence. According to the UN, about 14% of Kyrgyz women under the age of 24 are married under some form of coercion.
March 8th has been sponsored by the United Nations since 1975 as International Women’s Day, celebrating women’s achievements and aiming to further their rights.