12/01/2026 | Writer: Kaos GL
Hundreds of women and LGBTI+ people filled Ankara’s Tandoğan Square, coming together to protest the government’s family policies, femicides, and hostility toward LGBTI+ people.
Translation: “We will rise like Poyraz* against hate!”
Hundreds of women and LGBTI+ people gathered at Ankara Tandoğan Square on January 10, Saturday, coming together for the Great Women’s Rally. The square echoed with slogans against the government’s family policies, femicides, and hostility toward LGBTI+ people.
The rally also commemorated Poyraz, a trans man prisoner who died under suspicious circumstances in Sincan Prison. His name was chanted from the stage amid applause and slogans.
At security checkpoints, police attempted to prevent some rainbow-colored banners and bandanas from entering the rally area. Despite these obstacles, LGBTI+ participants waved rainbow flags in the square.
After women and LGBTI+ people reached the area, the joint press statement was read by Döne Gevher, Women’s Secretary of KESK.
Key excerpts from the statement are as follows:
“Last year, they presented women with ‘family’ packages. This year, we entered under regulations that embolden perpetrators of violence, rapists, and women’s murderers. From here, we state clearly: Impunity kills. Impunity fuels violence. Impunity is the systematic violation of women’s right to life. Women were killed because they were not protected. They were killed because their complaints were ignored. They were killed because restraining orders were not enforced. And many women’s deaths were dropped from case files by being labeled ‘suspicious.’ In this country, women are not only killed; their deaths are also rendered invisible.”
“We are here because we are not safe in our homes. We are not safe on the streets. We are not safe on campuses. We are not safe in schools. We are not safe in workplaces. Women are promised ‘security,’ but our lives are not protected. Because security is defined not through protecting women, but through controlling them. And that is not all; through a politics that pits society against itself, those who insist on their rights and those who struggle for equality and freedom are being targeted. The rights of women and LGBTI+ people are under direct attack. Alimony rights are being put up for debate. Divorce is being pushed into mediation. Under the name of mediation, women are being forced back into violence. With the imposition of ‘biological sex,’ the very existence of LGBTI+ people is being targeted. Hate speech is being turned into state policy. From here, we state clearly: We will not submit to violence, hate, or erasure! We say: We want to live! LONG LIVE LIFE IN SPITE OF HATE!”
“We are here to tell those who declared 2025 the ‘Year of the Family’ that 2026 will be the Year of Women’s RESISTANCE! We will not be silent! We will not bow down! We will not give up! We are raising our voices! We want a country free of violence, equal, and free! Together, we will win! Long live our organized struggle! Long live women’s solidarity!”
Translation note for Poyraz*: Poyraz was the name of a trans man prisoner who died under suspicious circumstances in Sincan Prison. In Turkish, the word “poyraz” also means a northeasterly wind.
Tags: human rights, women, life, family, trans, lgbti
