rights

The battle to save the green hid much deeper reasons of the malcontent of Turkish civilians. It was the 31st of May when dozens of people gathered in Gezi Park, Istanbul, and protested against the government’s plan to demolish the park in order to build up a shopping centre.

However, the protests soon revealed a population which is highly disappointed by the government’s actions and the PM Tayyip Erdogan’s attempt to impose Muslim-orientated values on the secular state.

The Turkish citizen İnsanlik Hali - who addressed a letter to the world in which he explains the reasons of the protests and provides the account of the ongoing situation (widely ignored by the media in the first stage of its developments) – explains:

“They [the protesters] all gathered to prevent the demolition of something bigger than the park: The right to live as honorable citizens of this country. People who are marching to the center of Istanbul are demanding their right to live freely and receive justice, protection and respect from the State. They demand to be involved in the decision-making processes about the city they live in.”

The case of the British student Rebecca Meredith is the latest example of how women are still victims of sexism in Western societies. Rebecca faced rape threats during a debate at Glasgow University, earlier this month, and the episode shed light on the topics of feminism and sexism.

British Sexism

Women in the UK have many freedoms and their basic human rights are recognised. However, it's far from the truth to state that women are no longer victims of sexism. From wolf-whistles in the tube to denigrations of any type, especially at the workplace, sexism in the UK is still common and the path for equality is still long and hard.

Many countries are still plunged into chauvinism and the UK is not an exception: do you remember the decision of the Church of England according to which women cannot become bishops? This happened only a few months ago.

I agree with Rebecca's outrage when one of her peers pointed out that Western women do not really need a National Women’s Day.