Women to file hate crime charges against Erdoğan

2015-06-03 15:07:52

IĞDIR / MUŞ (DİHA) - The group of women who Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan targeted with sexist remarks for their protest in Iğdır province said they plan to file hate crime charges against him.

On Monday, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan came to the province of Iğdır as part of an election campaign that is illegal for the President to conduct in Turkey. A group of Iğdır women gathered to turn their backs on his convoy as it went past. The president made sexist remarks about the women, calling them "immoral" and "impudent." The women now say they plan to file hate crime charges against the president.

The "back-turning campaign" against the notoriously sexist Turkish president, launched by a small group of women in remote Iğdır, is now spreading across Turkey. In the cities of Muş and its Malazgirt district, women gathered to declare their intention to stop Erdoğan. "Women's liberation will tear down your sultanate," read one sign at the Muş protest.

"Since the day he came to power, the President has always tried to restrict and enslave women," said Tuğçe Özsoy, a HDP (Peoples' Democratic Party) Antep MP candidate, one of the many women across the country declaring their support for the Iğdır women. "He's interfered with everything from their clothing, the length of their skirts, how they will behave, to how they sit down and how they stand up."

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