Women will protest violence with dance

Twenty Turkish cities will be joining today a global Valentine's Day event that has invited 1 billion women to oppose violence against woman through dancing. The global campaign "1 billion rising" aims to show "collective strength" and "solidarity across borders" on violence against women with millions of women expected to take part in the worldwide dance in hundreds of events throughout the world. Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa, Mardin and Zonguldak are among the cities that will be hosting the festive protest of violence against women. In Istanbul, several events are planned both on the European and the Asian sides of the city. The first event at Sariyer İstinye Park mall will kick the program off at noon. Besiktas Barbaros square will host an event at 1 p.m. and almost simultaneously, at 2 p.m., another dance protest will take place in the Haydarpasa neighborhood near Kadikoy. The event in Taksim Square will start at 6 p.m. while there will be a second event in Kadikoy, at the ferry ports at 7 p.m. Another dance event will be organized near the Armenian Surp Kevork Church to protest the increase of attacks targeting Armenians during the last two months in Istanbul's Samatya neighborhood, especially after the murder of an elderly woman, Maritsa Kucuk, at her home. In accordance with the event's motto, "Dancing is Revolution," several groups have been preparing for the events by offering free lessons to women, calling them bust their moves on the big day. The Besiktas Municipality has also provided free dance lessons for women.  One in every three women in the world will experience violence, such as rape, assault or beating, in her lifetime, according to the group's website. Today will mark the movement's 15th anniversary, and men, as well as women, are invited to join in. "Violence against women and girls is not only a woman's issue; it's a human issue. When we say everyone should join the campaign we mean EVERYONE," a statement made on the group's website read.