Whatever the one-man regime does, it doesn’t work: They are afraid of the youth

Politics Service

After the possibility of İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s diploma being revoked and the subsequent operations targeting the İBB, widespread arrests and detentions led large segments of the public to take to the streets against the Palace regime. University students, neighbourhood youth, and young workers became the driving force behind the protests. The spark of resistance was ignited when students gathered at İstanbul University broke through the police barricade. The regime’s greatest fear has been this determined resistance by the youth. It has been revealed that the vast majority of the 1,879 people Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced as detained so far are young people, and a large portion of the 301 individuals arrested are also from this group.

THE REGIME’S INTIMIDATION EFFORTS

In the operations carried out through dawn raids, marches held in schools and on the streets were deemed criminal acts. Even young people who happened to be passing by or walking in the area at the time were included in the operations, which has been interpreted as an attempt by the regime to intimidate the youth.

But the policies of pressure and intimidation did not stop there. The violence inflicted on young people, including interventions with pepper spray and batons, aimed to crush the resistance. However, despite all these tactics, the youth continued to fill the squares in increasing numbers each day. Declaring at every opportunity that they had overcome the wall of fear, young people also revealed their own practices against the regime through the solidarity they displayed across the country. The boycott initiated by students at ODTÜ quickly spread to many other universities, and the youth’s response to the regime’s assaults was: “Boycott by day, streets by night.”

The youth repeatedly expressed that the protests were not just a reaction, but a struggle for their future. Through their demands and slogans, they shouted out that they would not accept having their fate determined by others.

The market-driven, reactionary education system imposed by the regime and the poverty it has created have trapped the youth in a vicious circle of hopelessness. With their freedoms increasingly restricted and their rights steadily eroded, the youth now pose the greatest threat to those in power. The growing cries of “enough is enough” among the youth are the direct result of the government’s policies up to this point.

Here are the main problems faced by the youth who are rejecting the life that has been deemed suitable for them until now:

THE POVERTY TRAP

It is reported that 70.2% of those participating in the protests are between the ages of 18 and 24, while 94.2% are under the age of 35. According to a study conducted in Ankara, the socioeconomic satisfaction of youth is extremely low. While 31.7% of respondents found their current economic situation not at all satisfactory, their expectations for the economic future scored only 1.79 out of 10. The proportion of those who consider themselves in the lowest three layers of society reached 31.3%.

According to TÜİK data, the unemployment rate among the youth population aged 15–24 was 16.3% in 2024. The unemployment rate for young women was estimated at 22.3%, while for young men it was calculated as 13.1%.

A GENERATION THAT IS STUCK AT HOME

The youth population, often referred to as the “demographic window of opportunity,” now drifts aimlessly as “stay-at-home youth.” Among those aged 15–24, the rate of those neither in education nor employment is 22.9%, while 29.8% of the total 1.326 million university graduates are also neither studying nor working.

Among the 15–34 age group, 6.614 million people are neither in education nor employment. Of the 24.291 million people in this group, 27.2% are neither working in income-generating jobs nor continuing their education. While the rate of “neither in education nor employment” among young men in this age group is 14.6%, it is estimated to be 40.3% among young women. A total of 4.808 million young women in this age group are neither studying nor working.

THE HOUSING CRISIS

In the past 20 years, universities in the country have been designed as commercial enterprises, pushing the number of students beyond 7 million. In contrast, although the bed capacity of state dormitories has reached 956,000, it still falls far short of meeting demand. The number of students dropping out due to housing problems has quadrupled in the last 7 years. According to the latest data, 1 in every 3 students continues to face housing difficulties.

According to a study by the İstanbul Planning Agency, the average monthly cost of a single room in private dormitories is 15,400 TL, while the per-person cost in shared rooms drops to around 7,500 TL. In cities with the highest number of university students — İstanbul, Ankara, and İzmir — rental prices exceed students' budgets. As of 2024, average monthly rents were recorded as 20,713 TL in İstanbul, 18,077 TL in Ankara, and 17,829 TL in İzmir. These figures make it difficult even to rent shared flats.

According to data from the Higher Education Quality Council, the number of students leaving university due to housing problems is increasing. While 98,000 students dropped out in 2015, this number rose to 389,000 in 2022. Dropouts are most concentrated in major cities where rent prices are highest.

THE DISMANTLING OF EDUCATION

One of the most pressing issues for the youth is the lack of access to a qualified, scientific, and democratic education system. According to the 2024 FES Youth Survey featured on DW, 48% of those aged 25–30 said they were dissatisfied with the quality of education, while this rate rose to 60% among young people aged 14–18. Moreover, 42% of youth believe that grades can be bought.

Additionally, 58% believe that having connections with powerful individuals is necessary to find a job, while 42.7% think political party membership is important for employment.

FREEDOMS ARE BEING RESTRICTED

While the youth face increasing repression, their sense of solidarity and belonging continues to grow. Targeted by the regime for their social media posts, they are subjected to investigations under vague charges such as “disrupting public order” or “insulting state officials” for even the slightest criticism of those in power. Young people are struggling to survive in an environment where numerous fundamental rights — from freedom of expression and the right to education, to housing and the freedom to organise — are systematically restricted.

As seen especially in the past 10 days, young people aged 15–29 are met with pressure, detentions, and blacklisting when they attempt to exercise their constitutional rights.

Attacks on young women and discrimination against LGBTI+ individuals further expose the systematic violence imposed by the regime against the freedoms and rights of youth. The banning of Pride Marches, the closure of student clubs, and the impunity surrounding hate speech have made access to basic rights nearly impossible for this group.

Faced with the regime’s reactionary policies, the youth are rejecting the roles and identities being imposed upon them.

Source: Tek adam rejimi ne yapsa olmuyor: Gençlerden korkuyorlar