Turkey's new reform plan for women to come into force by New Year

A new reform plan for women will come into force by New Year, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.

Erdogan addressed a large crowd of women during an event held for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and defined violence against women as a "betrayal to humanity.”

"Whoever is involved in this betrayal must be punished," he said.

Erdogan underlined the significance of women in society and said, “If there are no women, then half of the society is not there... A society without women is destined to disappear."

"As the AK Party we have made significant reforms to lift barriers for women. One of the most important is the law to Protect Family and Prevent Violence Against Women," he added.

The Family and Social Policies Ministry had dealt with 20,000 cases of violence against women, he said.

Protests in Istanbul

Meanwhile, around 2,000 women marched through the Turkish city of Istanbul on Saturday to protest against violence against women.

The rally marched through Istiklal Street and was organised to mark the UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Since 1981, women's activists have marked 25 November as a day against violence. 

This date came from the brutal assassination in 1960, of the three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic, on orders of Dominican ruler Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961), according to the UN.