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Women demonstrating against gender-segregated universities arrested

16 Feb 2021

Countries

Turkey

The actor of the backlash

Law Enforcement Authorities

The form of backlash

Judicial harassment (incl. Arbitrary Arrests, Bans, and Detentions) Enactment of violence (offline/online)

Rights at stake and state’s obligations

Freedom of expression, thought, conscience and religion Freedom of assembly and association Freedom from discrimination

16 February 2021: A group of women protesting Erdogan’s plans of setting up a women-only university were subjected to police violence and arrested.150 Following a visit to Japan in 2019 where there are many women-only universities, Erdogan decided to include the establishment of universities for women in the 2021 Presidential Annual Program.151

See DuvaR, February 2021 and Turkish Minute, October 2020.

Women demonstrating against gender-segregated universities arrested

Counter-response

"We don't want women's universities" - #KadınÜniversitesiİstemiyoruz