Erdoğan Insists Woman Was Harassed During Gezi Protests

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan insisted on Friday that a woman wearing an Islamic headscarf was harassed during the nationwide Gezi protests of 2013, a day after 14 columnists writing for pro-government newspapers all used the same headline to defend the alleged harassment story, despite evidence casting doubt on the authenticity of the narrative.

“A young woman, the daughter-in-law of a mayor, a mother, was harassed when she was with her child in Kabataş. No one went after those who harassed the woman, no one condemned them,” Erdoğan said of the incident which took place in the Kabataş neighborhood in central İstanbul in the early days of the Gezi protests.

The woman gave an interview at the time to a pro-government newspaper, claiming that she and her baby were attacked by a group of 60-70 protesters, mostly half-naked men who insulted her for her Islamic attire, kicked her baby and even urinated on her. Erdoğan has repeatedly referred to the alleged harassment of the woman, who later turned out to be the daughter-in-law of the mayor of an İstanbul municipality ruled by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), in speeches denouncing the Gezi protesters. But footage from nearby security cameras released months later and police interviews with dozens of people who were near the scene of the alleged incident showed no evidence that such an attack had even taken place.

The revelations sparked a wave of criticism in the media and on social media platforms against the journalists who defended the woman's narrative and of Erdoğan, who repeatedly used the alleged harassment to galvanize support for the government against the nationwide protests. The debate picked up momentum in recent days when journalists who defended the harassment claim were publicly criticized by colleagues in televised debates and on social media for their role in the spread of what they say is a fabricated story used to discredit the Gezi protests and polarize society along religious and political lines.

Erdoğan responded to the criticism, saying the woman who was harassed and female columnists who wrote about the incident were attacked and insulted “shamelessly.”

“And they say the woman's statement is essential in harassment cases,” he said during an address to female workers, responding to criticism that the footage from the security cameras does not indicate she was harassed. “It shows some women are important to them, but not all women.”

In his speech, Erdoğan also vowed to fight discrimination against women and said he supported women pursuing professional careers and setting up their own businesses.

However, he also repeated his call for families to have at least three children, saying it is necessary to maintain the dynamism of Turkey's economy, a call which critics say effectively limits women's role to motherhood.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)