Turkey: Tear gas used against women protesting against gender-based violence

Turkish police used tear gas on Thursday night against hundreds of women protesting in Istanbul to denounce gender-based violence and Turkey's withdrawal from the International Convention for the Protection of Women.

Protesters held banners reading "We will fight until we get what we want", demanding that the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan return to the Istanbul Convention, according to AFP reporters.

Turkey formally abandoned the international convention in July, with conservatives in the ruling AKP claiming the convention encourages homosexuality and threatens the traditional family structure.

In other banners, one could read slogans such as: "Do not be silent in the face of male violence" and "Maintain morality, but give us back our lives".

The crowd then wanted to march on Istiklal Street. Protesters attempted to breach police railings, while police responded with teargas to disperse the crowd.

A total of 345 women have been murdered in Turkey since the beginning of the year, according to the 'We Will Stop Feminicide' platform.  In 2010 this number was 410.

Women's rights activists told AFP that women felt more at risk and less protected since Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention.