Women protest as Turkey quits violence-on-women treaty

FILE PHOTO: Activists shout slogans, hold banners and wave flags during a protest against Turkey's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, an international accord designed to protect women, in Istanbul, Turkey, June 19, 2021. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo

ANKARA/ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Thousands of people took to the streets of Turkey's largest cities on Thursday to protest against the country's withdrawal from an international treaty to combat violence against women, a move that has drawn strong criticism from Western allies.

The protests came hours after President Tayyip Erdogan defended the withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, negotiated in Turkey's biggest city in 2011 and designed to prevent and prosecute violence against women and domestic abuse.