Outside Taksim, Turkey Faces Polarization
Women wearing headscarves report being harassed.
ISTANBUL — Fatma Betul Ozer is having flashbacks from a decade ago, when she was barred from attending university in Turkey because of her headscarf.
Ongoing protests criticizing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan have created a climate where some women who wear hijab say they feel unsafe because Erdogan's opponents immediately associate them with him and his AK Party, which has Islamic origins. In addition, critics of the protests accuse certain political groups of exploiting the situation to stoke tensions in the country. At the same time, Erdogan supporters say their party is evaluating its management of the clashes, but dismiss protesters' claims that they have limited personal freedoms.
Earlier this week, while walking with her young child at an Istanbul mall, Ozer said she was heckled by a woman and two others, shouting loudly about attending the protests and telling her: "You are guilty."
"I don't have any security in the street now," Ozer said.
