Thousands of people marched on Sunday (18 September) in what is believed to be the largest anti-LGBTQ+ demonstration Turkey has ever seen.
Protesters in Istanbul held signs with messages such as “protect your family and your generation”, “say no to society without gender”, and “father + mother + baby = family”.
Those in attendance demanded a ban on LGBTQ+ associations and activities, such as Pride – despite parades of this nature not being allowed since 2015.
Kursat Mican, a speaker representing the organisers, claimed to have obtained more than 150,000 signatures demanding new legislation from the country’s government that would see so-called ‘LGBTQ+ propaganda’ banned.