A photo of a young woman being pepper-sprayed becomes a symbol of the protests in Taksim Gezi Park.
On May 28, the first day of Occupy Gezi, Reuters photographer Osman Orsal captured a young woman being pepper-sprayed by a police officer.
Via: Osman Orsal / Reuters
The incident immediately drew comparisons to this 2011 protest in the U.S.
A University of California Davis police officer pepper-sprays students during their sit-in on November 18, 2011.
Via: Brian Nguyen / Reuters
The photo quickly spread on social media, with the "lady in red" becoming a symbol of the burgeoning anti-government movement.
An unknown artist created an illustrated version of the photo.
Via: @ReutersAgency
"No moment captures that spontaneous defiance and the police's heavy-handed response better than the lady in red," Michael Kelley of Business Insider wrote. Max Fisher of The Washington Post called the photo an "iconic and affecting symbol."
Reuters itself called her a "leitmotif for Istanbul's female protesters." A student involved in the protests told the news wire that the photo "encapsulates the essence of this protest."
