Turkey: President Erdogan mocks men who wore miniskirts to support women's rights

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has mocked Turkish men who wore skirts during a manifestation in central Istanbul in support of women's rights.

The rally took place a few days after the country was rocked by protests following the murder of a 20-year-old girl, Ozgecan Aslan, killed after her aggressors had tried to rape her.

The latest case of violence on a woman in Turkey prompted thousands to voice their dissent against lack of protection of women in the country.

The men took to the streets of Turkey donning the female garment one day after the principal of a school sparked outrage for urging boys to harass women who wear miniskirts.

However, Erdogan did not like the move.

"They call themselves 'men'. What kind of men are they? Men wear trousers, why are you wearing skirts?" he said at a televised speech at his presidential palace in Ankara, AFP report.

In a previous speech delivered for the inauguration of dormitories owned by NGOs in Turkey, Erdogan said of the male protesters: "Let them cry out for low-cut [tops] and miniskirts."

As well as attacks from strangers, domestic violence is a serious threat for women in Turkey, where a recent report by the Happy Kids Association showed that 34% of men find violence "occasionally necessary", while 28% said violence could be used to discipline women.

In 2011, Turkey's justice ministry warned that there had been a 1,400% increase in the number of cases of violence against women since 2002, when at least 66 women were killed.