Women and their organizations in Turkey are preparing to take to the streets on November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

November 25 will this year witness various activities including forums, meetings and events in many places and areas including neighborhoods, universities, institutions and streets across the country.

Women organizations continue their preparations for 25 November, opening stands, distributing leaflets and spreading calls on social media for activities which will be taking place all week, with women saying that “With the strength we have taken from the Gezi resistance against male violence and hostility to women, we are growing solidarity among ourselves”.

Ankara Women's Solidarity Platform, which involves not only public forums but also individuals from KESK, DISK, TMMOB and LGBT organizations, will hold a Women's Forum at the central Güvenpark in Ankara's Kızılay district on November 21. the forum which will discuss violence from all aspects will also witness an exhibition on violence against women, works on communication and media as part of media monitoring and bringing the violence against LGBT members into view.

The events in the capital Ankara will continue with a radio broadcast on 22 Nov., banner and t-shirt painting and text workshop at Güvenpark on the 23rd, and a mass rally against violence against women on the 24th. A concert performance will take place on the 24th under the slogan “Rebellion, Street, Solidarity, Come Come Come...”, and witness performances by artists İlkay Akkaya, Feryal Öney, Pınar Aydınlar, Aylin Aslım, Yasemin Göksu, Dalepe Nena, Zülfü Women's Choir, ÜKK Band and Band Haziran.

Women will be taking to the streets and voicing their demands with ralies on the 25th as well. In the scope of the events for November 25, women forums are discussing proposals for creative activities including “red days against violence” with which they are planning to cast red light on public institutions known for their hostility against women and protest demos outside the Ministry of Family and Social Policies and against police violence and rape against women, and wearing red dresses and using red lipsticks that have become the symbol of the Gezi protests, the “June resistance” in other words.

Women are also organizing activities to protest against the AKP government's policies against women and impositions on the social life of women, such as marriage, objections to their cohabiting with men and the dresses they wear in the daily work life.

Thousands of women in other cities, including Istanbul and İzmir, as well as in the provinces in the Kurdish region, will also be taking to the streets and organizing events to voice their demands.