But I was always told that Turkey was “westernized.”
So much for that.
Some political demonstrations are potentially blood sports. Some are conducted under more civilized rules.
You were probably also wondering if the women weren’t out there because other, presumably fundamentalist men, would abuse them if they were out in public and the crowd’s blood was up.
I don’t know which of the above ROE explains it better. I think you’d have to live there to know.