Law & Politics

Judicial and political environment in Turkey on LGBTI issues

Ishi has a name!

Trans individuals share what their names mean to them.

Source: Ishi has a name! (İshi’nin adı var!) Deniz P. Darno, Kaos GL, April 5, 2019,

http://kaosgl.org/sayfa.php?id=27993&fbclid=IwAR37UQxfqMxm4LaZcCAqqh4s2jDKCGxIsxFUkqsTye45NQAEOiXJSXYk4JE

I want to tell the beginning of the story, the moment when I learnt that my grand-grandmother was a Lebanese Armenian. First, I felt shocked and sad because I hadn’t known it. Then, I asked so many questions. Trying to learn the details of the story was like climbing a hill. Though, I couldn’t find an answer to one of the basic questions. “What was her name?” I asked the eldest of the family already, but none knew the name. Here, another one of the problems which look seemingly easy: she has to have a name, what was it? I guess it was the time when I first understood that names have a story within. There are valuable studies about names which we forget, ignore, or neglect. The topic/purpose of this article is to present the story of the names of the transgender individuals who chose their own names and have to face an intense resistance against this choice of theirs, through their own words.

“I really love my name, because I came back to the real me!”

Aras: I have been Aras ever since I could remember. I even forgot when and how I chose this name. I learned the meaning of it much later and I told myself that I guess I chose the right name; it means finding something later and embracing it as if it was always yours.

Aslı: My friends reacted [badly] when I first told them that I had chosen the name Aslı. They told me I could choose a more modern and beautiful name. But I easily overcame their prejudice; I chose the name Aslı because I came back to the real me. I chose it because I was re-born. I really love my name, because I came back to the real me! (Aslı: Original, Real)

Aylin: There are a couple of important women who came into my life and their names were Aylin. I chose this name because I was really inspired by them and I want to further their energy. It also means moonlight. The moon has no light itself, it reflects the light it receives from the sun. That means, it reflects light which already exists. The moon brightens up with the light it receives; so maybe I’ll brighten up with this name and the process. I always exist but I brighten up with the light, my name. Also, I bring light to the darkness in some way.

Defne Gülce: Gülce is related to my family; my mother’s name is Gülden and my elder sister’s name is Gülşah. So, I chose it. Defne has a mythological story. Defne is a tree and it has a fairy girl inside. I see the tree as the body I was born with and the female hidden inside the tree means a lot to me. There is a god called Apollo in the story and he, manhood that is a thorn in her flesh, searches for Defne. I chose the name Defne because I think it reflects me a lot. (Defne: Bay/laurel (Eng. Daphne); Gülce: Like a Rose)

Deniz: The feeling of “unable to fit in” was one of the feelings that I felt most intensely at the beginning of my process. I felt the same about my name on my identity card and wanted to change it. Then I found my name from one of Arkadaş Zekai’s poems that I love: “If you reach to caress the curly brunette hair at the point where love makes love with love, if you see the golden sparkles inside the curly brunette hair, that means you are inside of the sea, even if the sea is a far away from you.” (Deniz: Sea)

Dila: One day, I stepped in front of a mirror, looked at it, and told myself: what goes together with this face? What, what… Many names came into my mind. Then, I had a friend, we were talking, and they told me  “Tell me how you really feel when you look at your face and let’s find a name according to it.” I said that “I see a really heartfelt, warm sincerity.’’ It looks like I am speaking highly of myself now, but anyway! Then I learned that Dila means a heartfelt sincerity and chose the name Dila for myself.

Eda: When I was around 8-9 years old, there was a grocery store on the ground floor of the apartment where we used to live and its owners were our neighbours. They had a daughter and her name was Eda. I used to play games with her. I had only the name on my identity card then, but it was like I would identify myself with her. I would run to respond when someone called her. My name comes from those times. (Eda: Coquetry, Coyness)

“I wanted my name to be Hayat (Life) because I chose to hold on to life.”

Efruz: The meaning of Efruz, which is a Persian name, is glamorous light; it also means igniting, emblazing. I define myself as a Middle Eastern woman and I have never felt ashamed of having been born in this part of the world. On the contrary, it is an honour for me to having been born here and therefore, I wanted my name to belong to this region. I started to look at Kurdish, Persian, Arabic, Syriac, Armenian, and Romaic name dictionaries. I was looking at them with one of my friends. Then I came across Efruz. I fell in love with its phonetics; its meaning was splashy! Then I said yes, I am Efruz! I also quite like the fact that the name originates from Persian which has existed since ancient times and so, I chose the name Efruz.

Eva: My friends suggested this name to me during my 18th birthday. Eva is the Latin version of Havva. Havva is the first woman ever created; they told me  “you created yourself” and suggested it with this motivation. We can say that Eva was found during funny chit chat. However, my name is associated with a vampy image and I face prejudices most of the time because it is generally considered as outside of the norm. In such a society which loves standardized types and excludes minorities, these names can, unfortunately, make life a little harder for us.

Hayat: While I was deciding my name, I especially didn’t want to choose one of the widely known names, because names such as Ayşe or Fatma are so traditional and have a meaning corresponding to a certain female image. In other words, there is an image coming right to your mind when you say that name; so, I didn’t want something like that. I wished for a name which does not correspond to anything and which I will fulfil. In addition, considering the difficulties that I had at the beginning of my process of coming out, I can say that it is a fight to hold on to life. I was in the middle of the point where I could continue to my transition or end my life. It was a period in which I had intentions, attempts to commit suicide. But I chose to hold on to life despite all the difficulties, so I wanted my name to be Hayat. (Hayat: Life)

Janset: I guess it has been three and a half years since the time I chose my name. At first, it was hard to choose a name, start to use it, and make people around me get used to it. Janset is a name that is really valuable for and belongs to the Circassian language, culture, and history. It means sunrise. Before telling you about how I chose my name, I want to mention a couple of things. When I came out as being a trans person, which part of my body I needed surgery for was one of the first things that I had faced. The name problem was a crisis following right after it. I was not known in the activist community and the sooner I chose a name and started using it, the easier it would be for people to get used it. But I waited even so. It was really hard to change the name which is a reminder of my deceased mother who gave that name to me. Also, I had spent the first 27 years of my life with that name. There were a couple of people who want to be a mother to me and therefore to choose a name for me, which is a tradition for trans people. It is a tradition in the history and culture of trans women from Turkey. I was distant, but also so close to that system. At first, I couldn’t capitalize on it. Both my character and my sociocultural background were not suitable for it. All these are different sides of it though, but they are the factors that affected me while choosing my name. My father is Zaza, my mother’s father is Turkmen and mother is an Iranian. So, I don’t have any relation to being a Circassian. When I was born, my mother named me with a name that she created by combining a part of her name with a part of my father’s name. When I decided to choose my own name, I wanted it to be a name which can tell all of  my story and character through its meaning and keep the part from my mother alive. Then, the actress Janset whom I really like came to my mind. I searched for the name and when I read the meaning: I said my name is Janset.

“I chose the name Kuzey (North) because I found my direction.”

Kardelen: My mother had given the name to me, even before I was born. In other words, my mother had wanted and expected to give birth to a girl, they had even chosen a name: Kardelen. But they were baffled and named me with the name on my identity card after I was born.  A while after I came out as a trans individual, my mother suggested this name which they had thought of giving to me before. Kardelen is really special to me because of its meaning. Because it really suits the trans spirit. Kardelen is a flower kept under snow, a fighter flower. Therefore, I really love its meaning as well. (Kardelen: Snowdrop)

Kuzey: When people want to find their direction, they look at the North. For example, sailors look at the North through their compasses and find their direction. When a tree is covered with moss, the moss shows the North. So, I chose the name Kuzey, because I found my direction. (Kuzey: North)

Lukka:  I hiked across the Lycian Way by myself a couple of times in 2015. It is located in the Southern part of Anatolia, between Fethiye and Antalya. I have been there many times and always hiked by myself. In the meantime, I researched its history, mythology etc. so as to commune with that place; I even painted it many times. Climbing the mountains and hiking by myself there were really meaningful to me. I enjoy climbing mountains and I see this activity as some kind of an expression of freedom. Also, the scenery is amazing and the archaeological remains, various plants, trees and people you see along the road have made the hiking precious. So, my name came to mind when I researched Lycia more. I learned that the masculine version of Lycia is Lukka, which also means light.

Mert Toprak: I have two names; it was hard to officialise it at the court, but both of them are really meaningful to me. The first one was given to me by a woman whom I had a relationship with for 4 years. Unfortunately, she got married by force and now has a child whose name is Mert, too. She was a really special woman for me. And the story of the second name is that my family was really transphobic at the beginning of my process of coming out and I would even receive death threats. So, I told myself that I would finish this process even if I would depart from this world and become a part of the earth. So, I chose the name Toprak by myself. (Mert: Brave and Trustworthy; Toprak: Earth)

Nora: My name means God’s light and good spirit. The reason why I chose it is because it is a different name that is out of the ordinary; besides, I think this name really suits me. I didn’t want to use such Turkish names as Ayşe, Fatma, Hatice, etc. I have been a trans individual for 5 years, but I have used the name Nora for 15-16 years. In other words, it isn’t a name chosen after becoming a trans individual.

Tolga: My mother picked my name because it is close to my name on my identity card. We chose and accepted it “so that people would not have a hard time to get used to it.” In addition, the whole process is like my rebirth, so I wanted my mother to name me, and she suggested this name to me. (Tolga: Helmet)

P.S.: The article only contains the stories of the transgender individuals who chose to change their names. However, we know that this change is not an obligation. The experiences of each and every one of us with our processes are unique; ultimately, the bottom line is to be reborn, name ourselves, and live our lives as we wish.

*I would like to thank all the friends who shared their stories, and dear Metin Akdemir & Gülşah Tekin.

**The illustrations at this article were used with the permission of the artist Rory Midhani.

***Title: Ulus Baker, Yüzeybilim- Fragmanlar, ed. Ege Berensel, Birikim Yayınları, 2014 [2009], p. 242-243.

 

Interview | Trans student, Şafak Koç, was expelled from the dormitory: “The number of those who undergo gender affirmation surgery and get murdered is the same as the number of those who don’t undergo the surgery and commit suicide.”

Source: Trans student, Şafak Koç, who was expelled from the dormitory: “The number of those who undergo gender affirmation surgery and get murdered is the same as the number of those who don’t undergo surgery and commit suicide.” (Yurttan atılan trans erkek öğrenci Şafak Koç: “Türkiye’de cinsiyet geçişi yapanlarla, yapmayıp intihar edenlerin ve öldürülenlerin oranı eşit”) F. Çiçek Yaman & Rojhat Tunç, Gazete Hayır, April 3, 2019, http://gazetehayir.com/roportaj-yurttan-atilan-trans-erkek-ogrenci-safak-koc-turkiyede-cinsiyet-gecisi-yapanlarla-yapmayip-intihar-edenlerin-ve-oldurulenlerin-orani-esit/

On Wednesday, March 27, we made an interview with Şafak Koç who is a student at the Department of Media and Communication at Üsküdar University. Şafak was expelled from Ataşehir KYK* Dormitory for Girls where he had been staying before coming out as a trans man. We met with Şafak after this event to reveal the problems that LGBTI+ individuals have in their social life.  Şafak began his story by describing his life starting in Van and then moving to İstanbul. The interview is below.

First of all, can you tell us about realizing your gender identity?

A child discovers his/her gender identity around at the age of 3. I thought I was a boy, but I realized my body was female when I saw the penis of my male cousin at the age of 5. I didn’t talk at all until the age of 9 because of the discourses that “girls don’t do that” and  “girls don’t play with boys.” I was not able to talk with people and express myself. I didn’t even know how to walk actually. People used to tell me that “you don’t even know how to walk.” I researched about gender identity for 3 years, because everyone around me was either female or male profile and I didn’t fit among them.

 

I couldn’t act like a woman or reveal the man inside me because I was ashamed. When a person told me that “you walk like a man” I got so sad. I wondered: “is there something wrong with me?” Moreover, I had nobody to help me and I was always confused. I hadn’t shared this confusion with anybody until the age of 18. I searched for things like “the mind is male and the body is female; what does this mean?” I thought a person who is not like this would not search for this kind of information. Then, when I was 18 years old, I learned that I was a transsexual person. I became so happy because I realized I was not alone and there were people just like me. On the other hand, I was scared of what my family would say. Because the number of those who undergo gender affirmation surgery and get murdered is the same as the number of those who don’t undergo the surgery and commit suicide.

Did you have problems during your high school? High school years can be problematic.

Yes, of course I did. Girls had to wear skirts at our school. Wearing trousers was forbidden. I would wear it compulsorily and I couldn’t go outside of class by any means. My hair was always in an updo and I couldn’t get my hair cut. Also, girls who  had their hair cut were considered awkward in Van. Then, people started to ask me “why don’t you go out with boys?” They even thought that I was a lesbian. So, many friends of mine ended their friendship with me without even talking to me just because of this thought. Everyone around me thought I was a lesbian, because I wouldn’t go out with boys and would act like a man. But, believe me, acting like a man was not something I could avoid–I felt that way deep inside. What could I do? I started to wear trousers in 11th grade and I was given reprimand. I had reactions from my family because of it too.

How did it go after you realized your gender identity?

When I went to a psychologist for the first time in 2016, I asked: “I really wonder how many people are there like me coming here?”. The psychologist answered me that [there are] “two other people.” They were children of teachers and they came here from other cities. That means I was the only person who was born and raised in Van who had the encourage to be their self. This frightened me a lot. I left Van by changing my choices.  I wanted to come to İstanbul and study media and communication because I though I would be somewhat free if I came to İstanbul and studied here. But then, I thought and told myself “what about other people?” It makes no sense. However, my family didn’t want me to study media and communication so I enrolled in the school by myself. Besides that, I was arrived just one day before the end of the enrolment period and it was difficult. I thought I became free when I came here. Everyone had come down hard on me and were both physically and psychologically abusive. I was already so confused because I was 18 and their reactions made everything more difficult.

So, you were the first person who saw a psychologist in Van about it?

Yes. But that doesn’t mean that there are no transsexual people there. We are not visible. For example, the suicide rates in Van is really high and people don’t know the suicide reasons for the majority of deaths.

How did your gender transition process start?

When I began studying at university, I planned to start the process after I graduate and become economically independent. But I broke down psychologically this year; it is really difficult to bear. So I went to a psychologist and learned that I had to start my gender transition for my mental health and medical treatment was started.

Have you ever had a chance to talk to your family about it, do they know?

I have. They know. But they reacted really bad. I don’t blame them completely, because this is something that they have never seen before and they are shocked about it. Just think about it: the person who you think is a girl for 18 years is actually a boy. They didn’t accept it. They insulted and beat me, just because I am a transsexual individual. Why do these things happen? It is really strange. Moreover, some people think that this is something arbitrary. Who wants to live a life like that? I think people should really understand. My family cut their financial support for me when I came to İstanbul. When they did so, I moved to a KYK dormitory because I had no place to stay. I have many relatives here, but I didn’t want to go to them. I have a sister one year older than me. She lives in İstanbul. But I couldn’t call her either when I was expelled from the dormitory. She already said to me that she wouldn’t help me if something happened. She told me to be still and live my life as a woman even if I am a transsexual person. I thought everything ended when I came to İstanbul, but I felt uneasy about going outside during the first couple of months, thinking they might be around. I couldn’t talk to anyone again. If a person is scared of his/her family, yes, there will be a little fear. The fear is less than the previous year, though. Now I think that everything that will happen can happen because I’ve given up on myself.  For some reason, my fighter side came to exist. I came from there, but I still fret about what those people are doing. Some of them send me text messages. It hurts a lot. They are forced to get married and I think about being forced to get married to some guy, I would probably commit suicide. Every 6 in a thousand people are born transsexual. This is not a low rate.

Can you tell us about the period after you moved to the KYK dormitory?

When I first entered the room, I told my roommates that “I am a transsexual person”. “Keep it in mind when you dress up or undress if you feel uncomfortable about it.” There was no problem. We were 8 people in the room and one of them wouldn’t come to the room. 6 of them were supporting me. This year was the same. We slept together and were really close. I am currently staying at the house of my friend who I met at the dormitory last year. I had no problem with the students at the dormitory. Just one time, the female president of the dormitory told me “your hair is so short, you look like a man. Grow it long!” I got so angry at her and that’s why I had my hairs cut shorter the next day. And then, she laughed at it. I and the president would joke with each other. But she would often interfere with the students staying at the dormitory and ask questions like “why do you wear such revealing clothes?”.  For example, a female student was expelled from the dormitory just because she hugged her boyfriend in front of the dormitory door. When the meals were terrible and students protested demanding better quality food, all the protesters were punished. Actually, almost all KYK dormitories are the same.

What was the process which led to your expulsion from the dormitory?

This year, I have been fairly visible on Twitter. A news article about me was published and I started to become known. Almost everyone at the dormitory learned that I am a trans person. The majority supported me while only a couple of people reacted badly. I was a little scared because if a complaint about it was made to the dormitory I would directly be sent to the disciplinary board, it would be written in my records, and my scholarship would be cut. So I decided to share the situation with the dormitory administration. I had consulted with the psychologist of the dormitory a couple of months before. I had told I was a transsexual man. I had shared my concerns and worries. The psychologist had told me “don’t share it with anyone at the administration, they will immediately send you away.” But I shared it with the administration last week. I told them “If a complaint is made, you can get trouble and a woman can get uncomfortable. If she makes a complaint to somewhere else, it gets worse for me; therefore, I am sharing it with you now.” At first, they seemed to be reacting well, but I was expelled from the dormitory the next day.

Let me tell you about these two days. On the first day, the day when I came out being a trans man to the president of the dormitory, they told me that they understood me and wouldn’t see me as a deviant. They even said that saying to someone, “you are not a deviant” is a transphobic statement. Because you cannot say it to any person when it is not true. Therefore, you cannot say it to me, as well. Then, the psychologist of the dormitory said that “We will ask you to leave tomorrow, you should stay at the house of a friend of yours temporarily”. After news started to spread, a lawyer contacted me and told me that they were trying to intimidate me and they were treating this way so that I wouldn’t cause a problem. The lawyer explained to me that the administration may had heard about it through Twitter or a newspaper article; they would try to shut the event down and thought that I may do something or that they may get affected by it. The lawyer told me to contact them if a problem occurs tomorrow, and that they could come to the dormitory right away.

The next day, I told the president that I didn’t have a place to stay and I was not dependent on anyone because the state granted me the right to stay at this dormitory. I asked for a month of time. She tried to look like she was treating me well again and told me “We need to think for ourselves. You leave the dormitory tomorrow and stay at a friend’s house, won’t you?”. Then, she gave me a paper and asked me to sign it. Afterwards, I acted as if I believed her; I told her that I wanted to go outside to call a friend in order to learn if the house was available. I called my lawyer.

After the lawyer came, the president heard about it and went mad. She locked me inside a room and didn’t allow the lawyer to come inside. She started to shout, pressed the alarm button, called someone, and asked them to come to the room immediately. 6 women came to the room; one of them was the psychologist of the dormitory and another one was an officer working at the district directorate. We started to quarrel. All of them started to shout at me. When I told them that I had the right to defend myself, they told me that they would initiate legal actions. When I answered that “Okay, you are talking about legal actions, but I am an ordinary citizen. So, I want you to negotiate it with my lawyer.”, they didn’t accept it once again and told me that they would have nothing to do with a lawyer. They asked me to direct this to a higher board. The president of the dormitory had always been like this. She didn’t even get a signature from a women she previously expelled from the dormitory. She had made up something and expelled them, but she tried to make me sign a paper because there was no reason to expel me. In the meantime, they kept telling me that they would take disciplinary action but I didn’t believe them at that time. “This is ridiculous,” I laughed at them.

During the quarrel, they often talked about my gender identity. I felt really offended. You get really offended when a person insults you just because you are a woman; it is the same, or double time worse. They acted like I was a guest of theirs and a burden to them. One of them said that “if even your family doesn’t care about you, why should we do?”. It hurt a lot. Then, I reminded them about my right to stay at the dormitory. I told them that I couldn’t stay at the dormitory for boys because my identity card is pink. Because my identity card hasn’t changed; even if I take hormones and become a man and my beards start growing, I am seen as a woman in this country as long as my identity card doesn’t change. So, they cannot expel me from the dormitory just because I underwent breast surgery. One of them told me that “you say your identity card is pink and claim you are a man. You contradict yourself. If you are a man, just leave!” When I repeated that I didn’t have a place to stay, they told me that “did you consult with us about it?”, as if it is something arbitrary. I asked them directly, “So, I am being expelled right now, just because I am a transsexual person, am I right?”. Nobody could say anything for a while. Then, one of them told me that I was being expelled not because I was a transsexual person, but because I was disrupting the moral order.  When I told them that what I was doing was not immorality, they said to me that “It is not immorality, but you are disrupting the order. Why did you reveal yourself? Why are you sharing it on Twitter? Okay, you are a transsexual person, but you should have kept it to yourself, why do you share it with people?” When I told them that the situation which I am in now is the result of the society pushing us to be invisible, they said to me that I am facing all these because I made myself visible. I understand it, they don’t know that transsexuality has a place in society; however, gender transition is one of our rights stated in law. Nethertheless, their attitude was like this.

When I told them that I didn’t think they had helped me, they got angrier and said to me that I had 3 hours to leave the dormitory. They threatened me by saying that I would be punished more and something bad would happen to me if I tried to resist.

You said that the psychologist of the dormitory was there during all the quarrel. How did she react?

When I told the president that the psychologist already knew that I was a trans man, the psychologist denied it. However, she had asked me not to tell the president about it, otherwise, she would get into trouble too. All these people in that room were afraid of each other. Think about it, even the psychologist couldn’t remain unbiased.

There are 788 students at the dormitory. Are there other LGBTI+ individuals you know there?

Yes, there are. I am sure about it. There are 4 LGBTI+ individuals that I met at the dormitory, but none of them are visible, because people are really cautious. I have a pansexual friend at the dormitory. They always protested the situation saying “Why can’t I walk by holding hand with the person I love? Why can’t I talk about it to someone? Why are people always biased about me?”

So, did the students react against the administration?

They started to a petition to show they were standing by me. They thought they could use it as proof when a lawsuit was opened. Something like “Şafak was expelled for no reason because nobody was disturbed by Şafak.” There were so many signatures at the petition, however, they stopped because they were afraid of someone notifying the president. Then, we consulted the lawyer and they said that it would not cause a problem. They continued to collect signatures for the petition afterwards. In addition, I received so many text messages from the dormitory. The people I don’t know sent me messages saying “We were not disturbed by you, how come they expelled you, you were an honest and composed person”.

How did the students at the university react before and after the event?

I have had no problem at the university. There are already visible LGBTI+ people there, like me. The rector, the dean, and my friends know that I am a transsexual man. Some of the students have negative attitudes; despite that, I have never experienced something like that before. I am introverted because my voice is high pitched, and I sometimes don’t want to go to school.

After the event, how did the school administration react? Did they support you?

I don’t know if they know about it or met with anyone. I have no idea.

You are seeking a job in the meantime. What difficulties do you face in business life?

Generally, “It is okay for us, but the customers may feel uncomfortable,” they say. Trans women are in a more difficult situation than I am because people don’t notice trans men after the gender transition. Even before that, it is hard to notice if his voice is not high pitched. After starting to take hormones, you become like a biological male when your beards start growing. But trans women are more easily noticed. They cannot find a job under any circumstance and are forced to work as a sex worker. At first the system constrains them and forces them to do so; then people criticise them by saying “why do they work as a sex worker?”. But it is the system that forces them to do so, and I cannot understand this.

You are staying at a house of one of your friends and have recently been looking for a job. Are there any LGBTI+ individual who you know went through the same process?

I have two transsexual friends. Both of them were expelled from the dormitory. Let me share the story of the expulsion of one of them. This boy goes to his home town and meets his lover there. The lover’s brothers and father beat the boy for an hour and a half, harassing him. They threaten to rape him. The event takes places in the newspapers and the boy gets expelled from the dormitory. He was forced to leave the school; then he was expelled from the school too. I reached out to him and asked that “Why did you give up?”, but he said to me that “What else could I do?” Just think about it, I will stay quiet, not go to school, and leave the school, etc. I would never do something like that. This year, another friend of mine was expelled, too, moved to a private dormitory, and they told me the same thing. They make us ashamed of ourselves. I got so sad about all this and I had already known that it would happen to me too. I was expecting it. For a month, I told my friends that I would never stay still if I were expelled. Because, if I were the only one living all these problems, I would just go away and not care about them at all; however, -believe me- some people are not accepted to dormitories in the middle of Anatolia, just because of having a short hair. Just because they have short hair. So, I want to set off a reaction at least. In the end, I am not doing all these so I can go back to the dormitory. We need to set off a reaction to prevent anything like this. They don’t accept us to the dormitories for boys, we cannot stay there. We are expelled from the dormitories for girls. Then, they should build a dormitory for trans individuals or stop discriminating against us. If I felt guilt, did something to a woman, or stole something, they could expel me right away. But there is nothing wrong with me. Just think, you get expelled from the dormitory, because you are a woman, Çiçek. Or you, Rojhat, get expelled from dormitory because you are a man. I think this is ridiculous.

Is there something you want or plan to do for LGBTI+ individuals?

For example, I will be on the videos of the program called “Soramazsın” (You cannot dare to ask) as a transsexual man. It will be broadcasted in the third week of April. But it is not something that I do to become a celebrity. When we look at the media, trans women are known and visible, whether or not they want to be; because people cannot help but notice them from their voices. But trans men are like “I became a biological man and will continue my life like this from now on.” As it is for Rüzgar Erkoçlar. He said that “I don’t want to be mentioned as an LGBTI+ individual”. Because society really tries to make us ashamed. So, people are not trying to be visible, they try to save themselves. But I have realized that I am not the only one I need to save, after the things I saw in the east of Turkey and the people in the east who reached out to me. So, I attended the video program called Soramazsın, despite the fact that my family can see it. Other than that, there is a documentary which is planned to be broadcasted internationally. It includes my gender transition process and the event of getting expelled from the dormitory; it will be filmed for 2 years. Actually, I attend to do various projects in several places. There is also a book project and a journal at Sabancı University.

Şafak’s life, starting in Van and moving to İstanbul looks like it has two different stories from city to city but it shows us a scene where, between the cities, only the methods of pressure are changed . Şafak has highlighted many times that transphobia, homophobia, and biphobia are reproduced in social life through many ways (series, movies, education, workplaces, etc.) and one of the ways to prevent it is to be visible. He has stated that the main reason for his will to prevent it is because this problem is not only his personal problem; it is a mutual problem shared by many people recently. Lastly, despite all the physical and psychological violence, Şafak clearly declares that he will not give up fighting; he invites people sharing these problems to be “visible together” and to fight together.

Translator’s note, KYK: Higher Education Student Loans and Dormitories Institution of Turkey

Experiences of LGBTI individuals in the workplace: “Get out right now”

LGBTI individuals in Turkey have to hide their identity for fear of losing their jobs, having a difficult time finding a job, or facing discrimination. Practises during the recent state of emergency (OHAL) have worsened the problems for “disregarded” LGBTI individuals.

Source: LGBTIs in business life: “Get out right now” (İş hayatında LGBTİ’ler: “Derhal terk edin burayı”) Burcu Karakaş, Deutsche Welle, December 14, 2018, https://www.dw.com/tr/i%C5%9F-hayat%C4%B1nda-lgbtiler-derhal-terk-edin-buray%C4%B1/a-46733048

“I couldn’t reach the status of a white collar worker. I have never been able to find a job. I came to a point where I was going to commit suicide because I couldn’t find a job.”

Trans woman Pınar started sharing her story to us by telling how she had faced discrimination during university education before beginning to work. While she was studying at the Department of Communication at Marmara University, the head of the department asked her “to dress properly”. “I was 20 years old then. I was suspended from school because I didn’t fit the model they asked for.” Pınar who shared her experiences with DW Türkçe has always returned empty-handed from the dozens of job applications she has made till today. Pınar is only one of the LGBTI people in Turkey who face discrimination in their work life  because of their gender identity.

The results of the questionnaire “LGBTI+ in employment” which was issued by Prof. Mary Lou O’Neil, Dr Reyda Ergün, Selma Değirmenci, Doğancan Erkengel in cooperation with Kaos GL Association and Kadir Has University and edited by Murat Köylü reveal discrimination LGBTI individuals are exposed to in their work life in Turkey.

The questionnaire that was filled out by 198 private sector and 89 public sector employees, involve senior executives, mid-level managers, specialists, labourers, and researchers. The questionnaire’s results show that LGBTI employees take some precautions, hide their gender identities and sexual orientations, as well as changing their style of speaking and body language. This starts when job seeking and continues during employment because they think they will definitely be subjected to discrimination. In the evaluation of the questionnaire’s results evaluated, it is stated that “the experience of having to walk on thin ice all the time becomes an ongoing discrimination and can cause severe psychological effects on LGBTI employees.”

“There is discrimination; but what can you do about it, I have to earn my living.”

58% of the private sector employees who attended the study were subjected to discrimination in the place of work or had to hid their identities to prevent it. Only 32 of the 198 people were plain-dealing with their gender identities during the job application, while 89 hid their identity entirely. A gay person working as personnel in the field of the law says that “I cannot be open about it; because they would not definitely employ me. This is a small town; the employers are somewhat conservative.” A gay person working as a service personnel at the entertainment business states that “I am always exposed to discrimination by the customers; but what can you do about it, I have to earn my living”, while a trans woman working as a mid-level manager at an advertisement business says that “being a trans person has isolated me.”

8 of the private sector participants express that they are directly exposed to discrimination during interviews and tests during the hiring process. A gay individual working as a specialist in the information sector shares discrimination he faced and says “During the interview, I was asked why I am exempted from serving in the military. I told them the truth. The woman who was interviewing me sent me away, saying ‘get out right now’.” When they were asked whether or not there is any institutional prevention mechanism against discrimination in the private sector, 94% of the participants answer that there is no such mechanism or they don’t know anything about it

Pınar: They changed their mind when they saw the blue identity card

Trans woman Pınar who shares her story with DW Turkish says that she is a private school graduate. Pınar can speak French and English. Despite the fact that her university education is left half-finished, she thought she could find a job because she was sure about herself due to her previous education; however, it didn’t work out. She states that the employers who had said “there is no problem, you can work here” changed their minds when they saw the blue identity card; “I didn’t have the operation. When I gave my identity card, they would get baffled. The people who told me that I could work with them would send me away when they saw the blue identity card.”

Pınar came to the brink of suicide when she couldn’t find a job after having to quit her education at the Faculty of Communication. One day, while she was walking back to her home with rat poison, she saw an advert saying “toilet cleaner wanted” on the window of a third-class pub. She entered inside right away: “The man felt sorry for me and I started working there as a toilet cleaner. Six months later, my boss said to me that “Pınar, you need to work as at the bar” and my life became totally different.

The effect of the state of emergency on business life

The experiences of the public officers who participated in the study are not so different from those of the private sector employees. To the question “Do you think you can be open about your gender identity at the place of work?”, 36% of the public sector employees answered that “I completely hide it”, 39% say they are partially open, and 7% tell that they are “completely open”. Moreover, to the question of whether or not they face direct or subtle discrimination, 43% of the participants stated that “I don’t face discrimination because I hid my identity”. According to the public sector participants, practises during the recent state of emergency (OHAL) have made the problems in the workplace worse for LGBTI individuals. To the question “Do you think if you experience any change regarding your working conditions at the institution during the state of emergency?”, 36% of the participants indicate that the conditions have gotten worse. The public employees point out that the pressure has increased during the state of emergency and therefore, the conditions for LGBTI employees in the public sector have become more difficult.”

“LGBTIs are neglected”

To the question “How do the problems they face because of their gender identities affect their productivity at the place of work”, a gay police officer answered that “I see everyone as a potential threat. I am disgusted by my job and the environment that I am in”, while a gay gardener states that “I  am cautious in case someone finds out and blacklists me. When a person implies something, I start to think he or she learned it and to get cold feet about it; because I could lose my job.”

A bisexual woman working as a sociologist in the public sector states that she hasn’t faced discrimination at the institution but not because of the positive attitude towards LGBTI people but because LGBTI individuals are ignored.

When both private and public sector employees were asked what they would recommend for the fight against discrimination the answers which stand out are: social awareness campaigns, prohibition of discrimination in national regulations, inter-corporate training as well as organized solidarity and discrimination resistance networks. Additionally, the report highlights that the state should fulfill its duty for protection and support.

Photo credit: Peter Hershey

 

An expelled police officer: If I can’t have a private life, what am I living for?

A police officer in Van was expelled from his job as a result of his homosexual relationship. Telling his story to DW, the police officer, who had been working for 12 years, states that he faces discrimination and cannot find a job because of his private life.

Source: An expelled police officer: “If I can’t have a private life, what am I living for?” (İhraç edilen polis: “Özel hayatım olamayacaksa niye yaşıyorum?”) Burcu Karakaş, Deutsche Welle, March 13, 2019, https://www.dw.com/tr/ihra%C3%A7-edilen-polis-%C3%B6zel-hayat%C4%B1m-olamayacaksa-niye-ya%C5%9F%C4%B1yorum/a-47883571

The report “The Situation of LGBTI Public Sector Employees in Turkey — the Research from 2018,” which was issued by the Kaos GL Association in cooperation with Kadir Has University points out that the working conditions of LGBTI individuals (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex) working in the public sector has become tougher and that these people are afraid of being in the line of fire, because of the increased pressure during the period of the recent state of emergency (OHAL) in Turkey. On the other hand, LGBTI individuals who works in law enforcement live on pins and needles all the time, independent of the political environment. Due to an article in the legal code, it only takes a matter of time for them to be expelled from their jobs. Metin is one such individuals who was fired from his job because of his homosexual relationship.

“When it happened my gut told me that ‘I had lost my job.’”

Metin, whose name we changed for security reasons, was a police officer working in Van. He spent some time with a man, whom he liked, at a hotel room two years ago and had a sexual relationship with him. At the time, Metin’s sexual orientation was not known to those around him. One day he went to drink tea with his friend at the police guesthouse, when the police commissioner called Metin had to leave the location for half an hour. When he returned, he saw that his friend was about to be taken to the police station because he had panicked and claimed to be a police officer and when asked for identification his lie had been exposed.

Although Metin described him as “a friend,” when brought to the police station the man filed a complaint against Metin claiming, “Metin had forced himself on me without my consent.” In spite of the fact that the friend said later that he had given this statement because he was afraid, Metin was arrested for the crime of “a major sexual assault.” Metin remembers that day as follows:

“When it happened my gut told me that ‘I had lost my job.’ You get so sad at that moment, but more than being sad, you think ‘What am I going to do now?’ I was thinking about what to say to my superiors, more than being afraid of losing my job, I was afraid of being humiliated.”

Reason: “Unnatural intercourse with a person”

Metin’s friend didn’t know yet that Metin had been arrested because he had left Van and returned to the city where he lived. He withdrew his complaint after hearing about Metin’s arrest. Metin was released after being held for 8 days. He was suspended from his duty; however, he eventually returned to his job after a decision stating there was no need to prosecute him. Though at this time he was appointed to Zonguldak. None of his friends would talk to him while he was leaving Van.

He continued working as a police officer in Zonguldak for a year and a half. However, he was expelled for the second time on November 2017 by a decision of the High Disciplinary Board of the Security General Directorate, due to “having unnatural intercourse with a person” which is listed among the acts that cause expulsion from one’s job in the Law on the Disciplinary Provisions for General Law Enforcement Forces.

In his written defence, Metin stated that he didn’t want to be expelled from his job and he had no criminal history. He had researched and read all the decisions for the cases opened in relation to sexual orientation, especially those given by the Council of State.

The police officer who was expelled is now unemployed. He has a house in Istanbul and he is planning to sell it. He has applied to many job announcements; however, he has not received any answer from them. He is upset about the reason for the expulsion:

“I said to my superior’s face: this is my private life, there was no problem about my job. If I can’t have a private life, what am I living for? If someone else will decide what happens in my private life, what am I living for?”

“Sexual orientation is an important part of private life”

Metin filed a lawsuit at Zonguldak Administrative Court through his lawyer Fırat Söyle in order to stop the prosecution and end the expulsion. Lawyer Fırat Söyle stated that the reason used to fire his client is contrary to the rule of law. Calling attention to the decision of the  Turkish Constitutional Court, Söyle said that “according to the Constitutional Court, the notion of private life protects facts such as ‘person’s sexual orientation and sexual life’ and ensures people can live their lives without being exposed to any external intervention. Whether or not a person is heterosexual or homosexual, sexual orientation is an important part of private life.”

For Söyle, the legal article “having unnatural intercourse with a person,” which was employed in this case, is contrary to Constitutional Law Article 10 that regulates equality. Drawing attention to the fact that public police officers who are homosexual are exposed to discriminatory legal action due to the stated article, Söyle stated that “This legal arrangement means that the police officers who have different sexual orientations will be extracted from the state apparatus.”

For the lawyer, who emphasises the fact that the perception of “approving” sexual relations between opposite sexes and defines homosexual relations as “unnatural,” the state is discriminating against people through this definition.

“The criminal record of Turkey is getting worse”

Mustafa Sarıyılmaz who is the general coordinator of the Social Policies, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation Studies Association (SPoD), which is located in Istanbul, emphasizes that discrimination based on people’s gender identities and sexual orientations is forbidden in democratic states.

“In the majority of the documents of the Council of Europe and the United Nations that Turkey is a party to, this prohibition is clearly stated,” says Sarıyılmaz, and he adds that protecting people from discrimination based on their gender identities and sexual orientations in public institutions and the private sector is one of the responsibilities of the state.

“However, we, unfortunately, see that Turkey’s criminal record, which is already not very clean, is getting worse when we look at the current implementation and the statements of the politicians.”

 

“No one believes that there could be a Muslim, socialist, and homosexual woman.”

From bianet’s article series THE CHANGING JOURNEY OF THE STRUGGLES OF HIJAB​

“I attended the Pride marches or the marches on May 1st and the people who see me say ‘Look, she has come to support.’ They look at me not as an individual who takes part in this struggle but as a person who was recruited from among the conservatives and converted.”

Source: “No one believes that there could be a Muslim, socialist, and homosexual woman.” (“Müslüman, Sosyalist ve Eşcinsel Bir Kadının Varlığına Kimse İnanmıyor”) Büşra Cebeci, Bianet, February 10, 2018 http://bianet.org/bianet/toplumsal-cinsiyet/194033-musluman-sosyalist-ve-escinsel-bir-kadinin-varligina-kimse-inanmiyor

“When they realize that I can be a homosexual, they get puzzled. They look at me like saying ‘What do you mean?’ and get baffled. Then, they laugh after saying ‘You gotta be kidding me’. They don’t believe it; the fact that I am a ‘dyke’ or that I am a Muslim.”

We have witnessed throughout this Bianet interview series that there are difficulties for women to wear a hijab or take off the hijab. In this interview, we witness the things that a woman wearing hijab will suffer when she outgrows the norms of a “woman who wears hijab”.

A socialist and homosexual woman with hijab shares her story with us; telling us about the rage conservative society feels towards her because they see her as a deviant coming from within their society and about the fact that the dissident society see her as someone converted from the other side, not as truly one of them, she narrates her struggle to be a free individual despite all this.

When and how did you decide to wear hijab?

I can say that my wish to wear hijab consciously came when I was at around my 20s. In the past, I did not go outside the house without covering my head, because of the society and family that I live in and the habits that I’d had since childhood. I covered my head outside of the school hours. At that time, wearing hijab at school was not allowed and this was a good thing for me because I didn’t want to wear it as a matter of fact. I was wearing it due to the fear of hearing “the daughter of what’s-his-name wanders around without covering her head.”

I grew up in a society that thinks “girls don’t go to school;” so, I was already alienated because I was constantly reading and studying. To be honest, I did not even dare to take off the hijab. Wearing it for a while becomes like a habit, I think. Unless you choose to wear it consciously, wearing hijab is nothing more than a habit. Otherwise, despite the fact that you disobey all the other rules of the religion: tell lies, slander someone, gossip, break hearts, and fail to share your meal with hungry people, you think you will go to heaven because you are a true Muslim for wearing the hijab. Is that possible?

You don’t hide you are an LGBTI activist wearing hijab on social media. What are the reactions that you receive from that?

Actually, not only on social media, but I don’t like hiding it in real life as well. Even at my place of work, some of the people know my sexual orientation. The majority of them show “toleration” or think they are showing “toleration.” The thing we call “toleration” is in fact just an attitude of people thinking to himself or herself that they are superior. I don’t think I did something like committing a crime, which needs to be tolerated. There are so many people who claim they are LGBTI supporters but they are actually homophobic.

“Toleration” means tolerating something and I don’t do anything that wanders at the borders of a person’s toleration. Needless to say, I don’t need to be tolerated, I need to be equal with other people. On the other hand, there are some people who straightforwardly spill out hatred against me. There are some saying “even the breath you take is a sin.” Some even threaten me by saying “this slut is just confused, come and let me help you.”  Some try to lynch me. Basically, every LGBTI individual faces these kinds of sentiments. However, the situation gets carried into another dimension because I wear hijab. They see me as a deviant who was once a part of them and this is the point that they get angry about. They already attack LGBTI individuals. The fact that there is a religious person with hijab, someone who looks like them, among the LGBTI people whom they call “deviant” makes them much angrier. But there is not just one colour in this life. Unfortunately, those who don’t have rainbows inside of them don’t realize this.

What kinds of answers do you get from the people to whom you come out to about your sexual orientation?

They laugh at first. Then, when they realize this is real and they get puzzled. They look at me saying “What do you mean?” and get baffled.  Then they laugh, saying “You gotta be kidding me.” They don’t believe it; the fact that I am a “dyke” or that I am a “Muslim.” People look at me like I am telling them a joke. So, I let things slide. Instead of coming out to them, I wait for them to realize by themselves. When they do, they become distant anyway and almost all of them leave me. Except for a few, even my closest friends stay away from me and think they are protecting themselves from me.

A female friend of mine, whom I had hugged and kissed and who had never hesitated to have a close touch with me in the previous years, pushed my arms away when I was about to hug her a day after I came out to her; she has never come close to me since then. I was friends with this person for years, we were so close, and I always considered her like a sister to me.

Another characteristic of yours that many see as contrarian is your political orientation. How do people react when you define yourself as a socialist?

I don’t worry about the reactions now, but no one accepts me. In the past, I was a member of a revolutionary — left wing organization. I used to go to the establishments of this organization and they used to see me as a person who is interested in the subject a little, but confused and in a paradoxical situation. When I went to LGBTI establishments, they shut the door in my face after saying “it seems like you came to the wrong address”. They have started to get used to it recently, or at least I think they have. For example, I go to the Pride marches and the people who see me say “look, she has come to support us,” they don’t accept that I am one of them or they don’t even regard it as possible. I go to the marches on May 1st and I hear them saying “Look, sisters with hijab are with us, they seem like they don’t believe in the government in power.” They look at me not as an individual who takes part in the struggle but as a person who was recruited from among the conservatives and converted.

At the exits of subways or at the stations of ferries where socialist leaflets are distributed, when I reach to take one, they draw back. This is completely because of their prejudices. I am perceived as if I am supporting or as if I have to support the conservative government. No, the religion that is exploited for political gain is my religion and I don’t have to defend this exploitation. In short, no one believes or can believe that there could be a woman who is an LGBTI individual, a socialist, and a Muslim.

Why? Seeing all this in one person is considered a paradox. They say that I understand nothing, that I lie in order to get attention, or that I suffer from contradictions in terms. No, the first one is my sexual orientation, the other one is my political opinion, and the last one is my religion.

To me, the Quran is a book that each person interprets individually and they shape themselves according to that interpretation after reading it. In real life, everybody practices what s/he understands from the Quran. I think it is wrong to use it as a vehicle to impose something religious after interpreting it with personal opinions and I cannot accept this attitude. Believe me, I have heard so many things about myself. So, I just gave up listening to them and expressing myself to them. After all, everyone believes in the things that they have in their minds. My family ignores my political standing. Yes, they just ignore it, as if it doesn’t exist or as if I am a joke. All my family and relatives are extremely conservative and they often tell me “you have been brainwashed.”

Is there any women who suffer from the same problems and contact you? What would you like to tell them?

There are few, not many. Most of us are afraid and hide ourselves. We can even face death after all. A person whom you have never meet can stab you as you walk around the corner, kidnap you, rape you so that “you can come to your senses,” kill you or beat you. They do all these things just because you are different from them and prefer walking a different path.

No one steps up and do something about it, because this is Turkey and we, women, are creatures who are seen as a second- or third-class citizen or we don’t even belong to a class.

We are raised and governed by people who do not accept our existence. So, we need to never give up on ourselves and who we are. It is not just about resisting against them. It is also about resisting against ourselves.

We need to resist even against ourselves in order to never give up despite all of our fears, sufferings, scars, and alienation.

In memory of Hande Şeker: The gender of transgender killings

Hande Şeker was killed in her house on 9th of January, 2019 by a cop who was there as her client.* Her housemate who is a trans woman as well was wounded by the same person. Despite some improvements in the language of the media since the 90s thanks to the struggles of the LGBTI+ movement, this murder which is clearly a hate killing was presented in the news with transphobic and misogynistic language.

Source: In memory of Hande Şeker: The gender of transgender killings (Hande Şeker’in ardından: Trans cinayetlerinin cinsiyeti) February 5, 2019 http://www.5harfliler.com/hande-sekerin-ardindan/

After Hande Şeker was killed, many newspapers and news websites shared her name presented in her ID card. This was done even though there is no public benefit in sharing it and her approval cannot be given because she was murdered. In addition papers when mentioning Hande Şeker, referred to her as a “transvestite” and “trans person”. “Transvestite who uses the nickname Hande Şeker” (Milliyet), “Hande Şeker codenamed transvestite” (Habertürk), “Trans person who uses the nickname Hande Şeker” (Sabah). All these news articles show how trans women are considered in the newsrooms. The journalists’ refusal to recognize trans women as women leads them to use a misogynistic and violent language.

The first message which was delivered via these news articles is that Hande is not Hande, often using the phrase “in reality”.  In other words, Hande Şeker, a woman who was murdered by a security officer of the government, is actually “fooling” us. Despite the fact that a trans woman lives, socialises, and works with a name she picked herself; this identity is just a “code name” for the media. Because mentioning Hande Şeker as Hande Şeker means recognizing the murdered person as a woman, normalising this fact, and not making it the centre of the news. However, this doesn’t suit the mainstream media which has traditionally made use of victims “being trans” to cause a stir.

First, they get a photograph of the victim from her social media account, which shows her beautiful face, probably taken by herself, and in which she looks in the way she wanted to look; and they put this photograph into the news article. And they write her name as Hande Şeker at the headlines. But then, they attach her name at the Identity card to the spotlight or under the photograph; the name which is coded with “maleness” and clearly not used by her. In this way, the message of “don’t believe in Hande” is delivered to the reader who was reading an article about femicide. So, it causes the readers to feel sympathy towards the transphobic killings’ culprits who testify before the court and to empathise with murderers who say “I thought she was a woman, but she is a man”. If the victim is a trans woman, questioning her “femaleness” in the news article is an additional strategy of the presentation. So, the focus of the news article is taken from the killing and the victim and transferred into the femaleness of the murdered woman, her background, the names and genders which are assigned to her without her will. The purpose is to confuse the mind of the reader who didn’t question the femaleness of the victim, to make them say “So, A is actually Y”, and to present “being a trans woman” as something horrible. Making them question the femaleness of Hande; ensuring the readers to watch their step by unearthing “this secret fact”. Otherwise, the readers may see the case in the shoes of the murdered woman instead of the man who entered her house and killed her; God forbid! They may see Hande as a woman, as she is; God forbid! They may forget questioning the femaleness of trans women for a moment; God forbid!

Cumhuriyet

Horror in İzmir… Cop shot trans people: 1 was killed

9th of January, 2019 Turkey

At the quarrel at an apartment in Konak District of İzmir, trans person Hande Şeker died and 2 people were wounded by the bullets of the gun of police officer A.D.

The incident occurred on the second floor of a 4 floored apartment in the Alsancak Neighbourhood today around at 06:30. Hande Şeker and second-hand phone seller A.T.K. who is reported to have gone to her house in order to have sex with her for money had a quarrel. According to the claims, police officer A.D. (23), who was allegedly outside of the building and on his off day, entered into the house as thinking that the trans people were attacking to his friend A.T.K., then he pulled out his gun and shot up one after another. 2 bullets hit Hande Şeker; her friend Y.A. who is a trans woman too and A.T.K. were wounded.

Taking this news article into consideration, the press working outside of the mainstream media still haven’t internalised the practice of writing trans-friendly news and haven’t thought about it enough. Nil who was wounded in the same incident, was only presented as Nil in the news article of Kaos GL; however, at several different sources, her name in her Identity card was stated fully or partially; or initials were used by some other sources. The point which led us to think about the lack of the practice is that even a newspaper such as Evrensel which is usually attentive to this point and usually cites news from Kaos already used the initials of Nil’s name from the identity card after presenting her as Nil first. The reason for it is probably because some of the journalists are attentive about it while the others are extremely careless when benefiting from different sources. For instance, Gazete Duvar and Gazete Karınca mentioned Nil with the initials of her name from her identity card, while Birgün did a good job and chose to mention about her as N with the first letter of her name, not her name from the identity card.

Hürriyet

News from Konak: Police officer killed a trans person and wounded 2 people in İzmir

Police officer killed a trans person and wounded 2 people in İzmir

Halil İbrahim KARABIYIK-Davut CAN/İZMİR, (DHA)- The quarrel occurred at an apartment in Konak District of İZMİR, trans person died and 2 people were wounded by the bullets from the gun of police officer A.D.

The incident occurred on the second floor of a 4 floored apartment in Alsancak Neighbourhood, 1468 Street today around at 06:30. The trans person who uses the code name of “Hande Şeker” and second-hand phone seller A.T.K. who claimed to have gone to her house in order to have sex with her for money had a quarrel. Meanwhile, police officer A.D. (23) who is reported to have been outside of the building and on his off day.

Milliyet

09.01.2019

Horror in İzmir during the early hours of the day!

Shot by the gun, Hande is dead and 2 people are wounded

After the quarrel at an apartment in the Alsancak Neighbourhood of the Konak District in İzmir, Hande Şeker died and 2 people were wounded, after being shot with a gun by police officer A.D. who was not on duty, according to claims.

The incident occurred on the second floor of a 4 floored building in Alsancak today around 06.30. The transvestite who uses the code name of “Hande Şeker” had a quarrel with A.T.K. who allegedly went to her house in order to have sex with her.

Using the word transvestite, which was an indispensable part of presenting this news until quite recently and has only slightly diminished (I say “slightly” because it appears that news articles are often written as if we are still the 90s, depending on the channel and journalist), is heavily connected with the tradition of writing “transvestite terror” in the history of Turkish media. By typing “transvestite horror” in your search engine, you can view the language of the current news articles; the same language in these articles continues appearing with the word “horror” which is a replacement for the word “terror”. The media’s intention to omit the womanhood of the trans women from the news articles is highly rooted in this sense. On the other hand, using “trans person” as a tool to “sterilise” Hande Şeker and all trans women from their womanhood is the new method of the trans-misogynistic news language.

Since we are threatened with death and forced to accept having malaria, some people expect us to see that choosing the words “trans person” instead of “transvestite” is an improvement. However, these people are women. Moreover, they are women who are subjected to the violence of men and were murdered by men. These news articles are not about different identities which are outside of the binary gender system, nor about trans men. They are specifically about the trans women killings. But the journalists or editors are clearly not willing to write the word “woman” and they grab the word “person” which is apparently perceived as more hygienic and neutral by them. For those who are more or less aware of the wrong in the subtle meaning of the word “transvestite” but are not willing to present trans women as women, “trans person” is a new lifesaver. Have you ever read something like “cis person” in a news article? If you read this, is it possible to understand the gender of that person? However, just like all other femicides, Hande Şeker’s killing is connected with her gender which news articles deliberately tried to separated from the case.

Mitch Kellaway, a trans male editor researched the trans killings presented in the news mostly in USA and Brazil in 2015 and realized that the ratio of trans female victims to the number of trans male victims is approximately 200 to 1. Despite the fact that there isn’t any similar research for Turkey, it is possible to see from the news and in real life that trans women, especially those who work as a sex worker, are so vulnerable to violence.

Trans killings are a serious gender-based topic; moreover, eliminating their gender in the news articles about trans women killings is not only causing a will-breaking intervention to their existence but also objectifying them and pushing them to a distance where readers are unable to sympathise, by vanishing their identity. Additionally, eliminating femaleness from the readers’ eyes by using the name at the identity card many times is the news’ tactic to make the readers see the case in the shoes of the culprits of violence and therefore to cause an empathy towards these culprits. So, when writing these news articles, it is important to emphasise that victims and killings should not be eliminated from their gender, trans-misogynistic acts should not be separated from the picture, and many power dynamics among genders, which enable each of them to live, are important.

*Translator’s note: Hande Şeker was working as a sex worker. Read more about her in this Pembe Hayat article.

Illustration by Yayoi Kusama

Second expulsion for police officer Osman: It hurts…

Osman was fired from his job as a police officer, filed a claim against it, and won the case. However, the Council of State overturned this decision after he had worked as a police officer for 3 another years. “I took the exam with the people whom I had been drafted together at the same time; then I won the exam, met the requirements for the state of health, and became a police officer in this country. I don’t ask for a favour, I want my right.” said the police officer. Osman is bound and determined to fight in order to resume his job.

Source: Second expulsion for police officer Osman: It hurts… (Polis Osman’a ikinci ihraç: İnsanı yaralıyor…) Çiçek Tahaoğlu, Gazete Duvar, February 20, 2019, https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/turkiye/2019/02/20/polis-osmana-ikinci-ihrac-insani-yaraliyor/


DUVAR – Osman, whose real name is hidden by us upon his request, is one of the police officers who were expelled from their jobs due to homosexuality in Turkey. Years ago, his sexual orientation was found out as a result of unlawful wiretaps and he was referred to a disciplinary committee after being interrogated at midnight under insults and cuss words. Then, he was expelled from his job by the Ministry of Interior in 2013 due to his sexual orientation, after being told that “he had committed a disgraceful offence.”

Police officer Osman who did not accept the definition of this offence, filed a lawsuit at the Administrative Court in order to stop the execution of the decision regarding the expulsion and won the case. He was working as a police officer for the last 3 years; however, the Council of State reversed the district court’s decision by referring to the Article of the Law on Public Officers “doing something ungraceful and shameful at a degree which cannot be proper while holding a public officer title (Article 125/E-g of the Law no.657)”.  At the decision of the Council of State, it was also stated that the previous statement of police officer Osman “has the characteristics of a sincere confession” and his behavior is not proper for a public officer.

BY THE DECREE LAW NO.682, HOMOSEXUALITY IS BANNED FOR SECURITY, GENDARMERIE, AND COAST GUARD OFFICERS

Lawyer Fırat Söyle, who commented on the decision, highlighted that there is not a clear nor implicit statement referring to homosexuality in the Law on Public Officers and said that “despite the fact that offences as stealing, bribery etc are disgraceful offences, the administrators are trying to define homosexuality as a part of this category and work accordingly.”

Stating that police officer Osman had been expelled before the state of emergency after the July 15th coup attempt and the legal procedure had been conducted according to the Law on Police Officers. Osman’s lawyer, Söyle said that as a result of the Decree-Law no.682 which was published in January 2017, a “homosexuality ban” was put on all Security, Gendarmerie, and Coastguard Officers. As a consequence Söyle made a claim to cancel this ban: “Until now, only the Military Penal Code has had a  statement as ‘unnatural intercourse with a person’, but this statement has been expanded by including all the Security, Gendarmerie, and Coastguard personnel. After this Decree-Law became a Law, homosexuality was put into a definition as ‘unnatural situation’. Now, homosexual people are punished and dismissed from their jobs, and the personnel who are expelled from Security General Directorate, Gendarmerie General Command, or Coast Guard Command are not employed at other state institutions / establishments. We made a claim to the Constitutional Court on the grounds that this Article (8/6-cc of Law no.7068) is contrary to Articles 2, 10, 13, and 20 of the Constitution and Articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.”

Now, Osman started the legal struggle in order to resume his job for the second time. With his lawyers, he requested the revision of the decision from the Council of State. The decision will be made within the coming days.  When we met for this interview, Osman said that “I am announcing to the public the cruelty that I have faced, the rest depends on the opinion of the people.” After indicating that his performance grades are high, he has a report stating “there is no inconvenience for him to work as a police officer”, and those who started the disciplinary proceeding about him and decided his expulsion in 2013 are under arrest now due to accusations as being involved in FETÖ (Fetullahçı Terör Örgütü – Fetullahist Terrorist Organisation), he added “Why cannot the people who love their country and nation work at the public institutions just because of their sexual orientations? I hope they will correct their mistake soon and allow me to resume my job which I love a lot.”

Now, let’s hear Osman’s words.

When and how did you hear that you were expelled?

A couple of months ago, I went to my job. We have a system called the Personnel Information System. I entered into this system, saw that I was expelled from my job as a result of a court decision, and was devastated.

Can you tell us about the job you had after winning the first reemployment case?

I was working with a team in the field. You know, we get police announcements, go to the location, solve the problem of citizens, and continue our duty again. I was working in İstanbul. I had a really nice work environment. I was getting along with my co-workers. I was the team leader.

Did the other officers at the police station know that you were reemployed after being expelled?

They knew it, but they didn’t know the reason for the expulsion. They were saying with puzzled eyes that “how come this could happen to a person like you?” Then, I mean, a couple of months ago, my co-workers called me when I was expelled again and they told me that “We are always here for you. You are always our team leader. We live in the 2000s and it is so cruel that a person is expelled because of a reason like this.”

So, they heard about the reason for the expulsion this time, didn’t they?

Yes, they heard the reason, as well. Someone told them at the police station.

You hid your sexual orientation at the police station where you started working after being expelled the first time. When you were expelled for the second time, it led you to come out to your co-workers, didn’t it?

Yes. After hearing the decision, they called and told me that they wanted to gather some money from among themselves and send it to me, and they wanted to meet with me. They did their best for me, to make me feel that I am not alone. I still meet with them, all of them are waiting for a positive decision to be given and for me to continue working with them. Moreover, a friend of mine told me that “I just got married. If my child in the future is a homosexual and wants to be a soldier or police officer, they cannot work in these jobs, can they?”

It seems the things you have faced have changed the police officers at the police station you worked.

Yes. I mean, the world has changed now, so we need to keep up with the changes. They see us as immoral people. Whose morals are these, what are they?

How does sexual orientation affect the job as a police officer?

It doesn’t affect it. Let me explain it like this: We are given performance grades annually at the end of each year. During the three years that I worked after gaining my right to be re-employed, the grades that I received was “excellent” which is the highest. You can see from this whether or not I let my sexual orientation be involved in my job. Actually, there is nothing to be involved, we are not from the outer space. We are the people of this country, too; we love our homeland and the people of our country. I wore that uniform with pride and I will again. I will win this case, too.

When we met 5 years and a half ago, when you were expelled the first time, you were so determined and won the case. What did you do till the time the re-employment decision was made? How did you pay your living expenses?

I worked. I found some jobs in the private sector. I stood on my own feet. There is always bread for a person who works. Each of us has just one stomach to fill.

You seem to love your job a lot. Have you always wanted to be a police officer?

I like helping people. I have always been a solution-oriented person. Who asks for help from a police officer? People who have trouble. I have been working as a police officer since I was 20. To me, the importance of solving a person’s problem and seeing the happiness on their face cannot be compared with anything.

How does being expelled from a job you work with passion feel like?

I can’t accept it, sometimes I can’t sleep because I am thinking about it. Because I’m in a situation that cannot really be accepted. The state makes me othered. I wish there was a machine which could compare my devotion to our country and my work ethic with those of the people who made this decision about me. Am I clear?

But you cannot work at the job you love because of a discriminatory law which bans homosexual people.

Yes, I have been exposed to discrimination, I have been unjustly treated, but I was on the streets during the night of the 15th of July for my country. If it were today, I would do the same. There was a coup attempt. I went out to protect our country and republic on that night, as every citizen should do.

Were you working as a police officer during it?

Yes. We received a message from the communication office, saying “go to the units you are located”. And I went to the closest police station, then I came to Vatan. We had a one-on-one fight that night. Why can’t people who love their homeland and nation in this country work in public institutions just because of their sexual orientation? Recently we see in the news cases of bribery, rape in a police car, police officers who cooperate with drug dealers. I didn’t do any of this. I just acted with my human feelings, I liked a person and I was judged because of it. President Erdoğan said yesterday that all citizens live their rights and freedoms in the broadest sense and that no one has the authority to intervene.

Now, you are fighting against the expulsion from the job the second time. How does it feel?

It hurts because I love my job a lot. I am always ready to die for this country. I do not have another homeland to go. I took the exam with the people whom I had been drafted together at the same time; then I passed the exam, met the requirements for the state of health, and became a police officer in this country. However, I face discrimination now, despite the principle of equality at the Constitution. If there was a situation preventing me from being able to work as a police officer, then I would say OK. But I went to Bakirköy Psychiatric Hospital twice and I got the report stating “there is no inconvenience for him to work as a police officer” on both times. I have excellent performance grades, but you see the decision of the court. I am tired of being a victim from this sort of thing. Can they destroy me? No, they cannot, I am a strong guy.

The Osman I met 5 years ago was different. Now, I see a self-confident, fighter, resistant Osman. Do you feel the same?


If the things you face make you stronger, that means you are on the right path. One of the reasons for this interview is that: Yes, we are a couple of people; however, there is a quote from His Holiness Umar “if there is nothing you can do against cruelty, announce it to the people.” I made it my priority. I am announcing to the public the cruelty that I have faced, the rest depends on the opinion of the people. I hope they will correct their mistake soon and allow me to resume my job which I love a lot. Actually, this is not asking a favour, I will not die until I get my right back.

During the first time you were expelled, you didn’t have any relation with activism nor the civil society. But in the meanwhile you met with LGBTI organisations. Can we say that this period made you an activist?

Yes, I realized the importance of organisations. Two heads are better than one. Maybe it seems like I am fighting alone, but there are lots of activist people who support me.

Before 2013, I mean, before the first expulsion, did you as a police officer have any prejudice against activists?

Police officers and activist people generally stand on opposite sides. But you stand at some kind of junction. It is correct, if you are a police officer, you have to obey the orders when a superior gives them, as long as these orders comply with the laws.

Orders may not always comply with the laws. I couldn’t go on without saying this when I find a police officer who answers my questions.

Then, you ask for a written order and fulfil the duty. No unlawful order can be given. If so, it is not fulfilled.

Regarding the topic, we can understand from their glances and body languages that police officers dislike or even hate activists and journalists.

Yes, because we have become polarised.

The thing that I am trying to understand here is that, did your thoughts about civil society and social movements change during your fight after the expulsion?

They definitely changed. I look at the case now as a human being. Nationality, gender, sexual orientation, etc are not really important. A person is a human being. Now, I don’t have any relation with politics, I stand apolitical.  

 

Court nullified the termination of a contract due to a “homosexual relationship”

Source: “Court nullified the termination of a contract due to a “homosexual relationship” (Mahkeme “eşcinsel ilişki” gerekçesiyle sözleşme feshini iptal etti) Kaos GL, 30 January 2019, http://kaosgl.org/sayfa.php?id=27479

The 34th Labor Court of İstanbul enforced the re-employment of R.S. whom Kağıthane Municipality fired without any severance pay upon discovery of a “homosexual relationship”.

The lawsuit filed against Kağıthane Municipality by garbage truck driver R.S. whom the Municipality fired without severance pay as a consequence of being in a “homosexual relationship” has been concluded. The court accepted the re-employment lawsuit of R.S. and nullified the termination of the contract.

According to the news piece by Dinçer Gökçe from the newspaper Hürriyet, the lawsuit was heard at the 34th Labor Court of İstanbul, where R.S.’s lawyer Mehmet Benan Ülgen demanded that the re-employment lawsuit be accepted, and stated that his client had no grounds to be fired.

Kağıthane Municipality’s lawyer Nebi Karaca stated as the defense that the lawsuit was not filed within the trial time limit and asserted that “we have rightful and valid reasons for the termination”.

After hearing the claims of both parties, the court decided to accept the lawsuit and invalidated the termination of the employment contract. As a result of this decision, R.S. can go back to their job.

The lawsuit of the other garbage truck driver A.S. who also filed a lawsuit will be heard in February.

What happened?

In July, the newspaper Hürriyet published the news with the headline “the homosexual relationship of garbage truck drivers caused trouble in the Municipality” and announced that the Municipality “fired 3 garbage truck drivers for having intercourse with the garbage collector laborer who works with them”. The newspaper used a discriminatory language regarding the violation against the right of privacy and the right to work.

Kağıthane Municipality said to the newspaper that the event which it describes as “improper” didn’t take place during the work hours and “as a result of the internal investigation carried out at once, the required procedure was conducted and the relevant people was fired immediately”.

The newspaper published these events as news and stated that “Kağıthane Municipality is shaken by the news of a homosexual relationship between 4 laborers who work in garbage collection for the district.”

President of the Council of Higher Education of Turkey: “The notion of gender does not fit our social values.”

“[The notion of gender] clashes with our social values and approvals”– president of CoHE Turkey, Yekta Saraç.

Source: President of the Council of Higher Education of Turkey: “The notion of gender does not fit our social values.” (YÖK Başkanı: “Toplumsal cinsiyet kavramı toplumsal değerlerimize uygun değil.”) Yolculuk, 17 February 2019 https://gazeteyolculuk.net/yok-baskani-toplumsal-cinsiyet-kavrami-toplumsal-degerlerimize-uygun-degil

The project for Gender Equality, which was sent as the Approach Document* issued to universities by the Council of Higher Education of Turkey (CoHE), has been waived. During his press statement regarding the issue, the President of the CoHE Yekta Saraç stated that “[The notion of gender] clashes with our social values and approvals.”

While the murder case of Özgecan Aslan was still in the headlines, Saraç stressed that the Approach Document was issued and sent to the universities and that it is within the scope of the international agreements for which Turkey is a party. Saraç asserted “the main principles of this document contain points as what can be done regarding the violence and harassment towards women in the Institutions of Higher Education (posters, seminars, conferences, handbooks) and how a safe environment can be achieved in university campuses (transportation control, night lights, increasing the number of dormitories for women, providing relevant education/training to the security and transportation personnel), as well as preparing and providing a compulsory or elective course in this context.”

“[The notion of gender] clashes with our social values and approvals”
During the press statement, Saraç stated “since the Approach Document was issued in 2015, all these actions will be carried out in order to prevent all kinds of inequality and injustice as stated under the term of Gender Equality. However, today it appears that different meanings other than desired have been attributed to the notion of Gender Equality and there is need to consider the fact that these ideas clash with our social values and approvals and they are not accepted by society. In parallel to this, the CoHE have been working for a while in order to make the necessary changes to the Approach Document. As of today, the work regarding updating the Approach Document by removing the notion of ‘gender equality’ from it has reached the final stage and will be announced to our universities soon.”

Saraç added “In this manner, it is required to pay attention to the curricula for women’s studies courses in our universities which should be determined with the understanding of ‘Women’s Studies Based on Justice’, rather than ‘Gender Equality’ and Turkish society’s esteemed values, particularly the notion of family, should be highlighted in the current courses, seminars, and conferences.”

 

  • Translators note: This document was issued within the scope of the international agreements (CEDAW and Istanbul Convention) and the relevant Articles of the Turkish Constitution. According to the document, the Council of Higher Education promises to act as being aware of gender equality and lists the actions to be carried out in the universities and institutions in order to prevent gender inequality and injustice.

In Solitary Confinement For The Past Five Years And In Prison For Twenty-Four Years Buse Is Deprived Of Her Right To Surgery

Buse Aydın has been in prison for twenty-four years, has been kept in solitary confinement for the past five years and is not allowed to undergo gender affirmation surgery.

Source: “In solitary confinement for the past five years and in prison for twenty-four years Buse is deprived of her right to surgery!”, (Son 5 yılı tecritte 24 yıldır cezaevinde olan trans mahkum Buse’nin ameliyat hakkı elinden alındı!), gorulmustur.org, February 7, 2019, http://gorulmustur.org/icerik/son-5-yili-tecritte-24-yildir-cezaevinde-olan-trans-mahkum-busenin-ameliyat-hakki-elinden

Buse Aydın is a trans prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment. She has been in prison for twenty-four years. Even though she is trans, she is kept prisoner in Tekirdağ Men’s Prison. She has been in solitary confinement for the past five years because she is trans and on the grounds that the prison cannot “ensure her safety.”

Buse has been in solitary confinement for the past five years at Tekirdağ prison deprived of all her social rights and has been in prison for twenty-four years. Buse’s friend, Diren Çoşkun, spoke with us about Buse’s condition and said that she is deprived of all social rights and is not allowed to see the other prisoners for “security” reasons.

The right to surgery not granted

Buse Aydın wrote a petition for her gender affirmation surgery 2,5 years ago to the Ministry of Justice. She received reports from the Training and Research Hospital and from the Forensic Medicine Institute stating, “gender affirmation is necessary for her mental health.” However, even though there are two reports from two different government agencies, the prosecution wrote to the Ministry of Justice questioning whether the surgery is a gender affirmation surgery, ignoring the previous decisions and sending the file back to the Forensic Medicine Institute.

Buse Aydın is not provided with the essential needs that correspond with her gender identity on the grounds that she has a blue [ie male] national identity card.

A second decision from FMI

Upon the Ministry of Justice sending the file back to FMI (Forensic Medicine Institute) and asking whether this surgery was “vital”, even though before FMI had stated that “gender affirmation surgery is necessary for Buse Aydın’s mental health”, they said, “it is not vital.”

“There are no photos of Buse”

Buse’s friend and trans woman Diren Çoşkun, who shared the same cell with Buse Aydın for some time, said that after she ended her own hunger strike, Buse too started a hunger strike for her right to surgery, but that then she had to stop. Buse Aydın has been in prison for twenty-four years and right now she is forced to stay in a single cell in a men’s prison.

Çoşkun said Buse’s only wish is to have her gender affirmation surgery and to be transferred to a women’s prison. She has been in solitary confinement for the past five years and she might be in prison for at least another fifteen years. Attorney Hatice Demir of SPOD, the LGBTI organization said: “You haven’t seen Buse. There are no photos of her in social media. You do not know her. We don’t know her voice or her laughter…We haven’t come face to face with her. This is why it is even harder to have her voice be heard, this is why her voice is not amplified…Buse only wants the court’s decision to be implemented. She wants justice! Please be her voice, please hear her…”

Buse Aydın’s friends have been using the hashtags #BuseninSesiOlalım, #BuseyeSesVer for her voice be heard.

“Homosexuality is not a crime, no one can be accused of being homosexual”

Source: “Homosexuality is not a crime, no one can be accused of being homosexual” (Aslı Alpar, “Eşcinsellik suç değil, kişi eşcinsellikle suçlanamaz”) KaosGL, 30 January 2019 http://kaosgl.org/sayfa.php?id=27480

Why has the newspaper Hürriyet published an article including discriminatory language? An article entitled “Breaking news regarding the decision in the case of the garbage truck driver who has been accused of having a homosexual relationship” is misleading and sensational.

Today, the newspaper Hürriyet has published a news item under the headline “Breaking News Regarding The Decision In The Case Of the Garbage Truck Driver Who Has Been Accused of Having A Homosexual Relationship”.

This news piece, signed by Dinçer Gökçe, announces the result of the reemployment lawsuit that the garbage truck driver R.S. filed against the Kağıthane Municipality because the Municipality fired him without paying any severance pay due to a “homosexual relationship”, which was also reported by the newspaper Hürriyet in July.

The news announces that the 34th Labour Court of İstanbul  enforced the re-employment of R.S. whom Kağıthane Municipality fired without paying any severance pay due to a “homosexual relationship”. The news was presented with a blurred picture of a garbage truck and two men standing side by side. The news does not mention that the workers the legal right-to-work was violated or that it cannot be a concern for Kağıthane Municipality if they were accused of having “homosexual relationship” out of working hours.

The newspaper first published the news relating to Kağıthane Municipality’s violation to the right of privacy and the right to work of the labourers, with the headline “the homosexual relationship of the garbage truck drivers caused trouble in the Municipality”

Lawyer Kerem Dikmen: “Since homosexuality is not a crime, no one can be accused of homosexuality”

Kaos GL Association Legal Coordinator Lawyer Kerem Dikmen assessed the Hürriyet news story for KaosGL.org. Lawyer Dikmen notes that the statement as “accused of homosexuality” which is stated at the headline of the news is wrong:

“Crime is a definition used for actions for which the Criminal Code requires enforcement. Therefore, there cannot be a case where a person is accused of homosexuality, because homosexuality which is a sexual orientation is not a crime. Of course, Hürriyet reporters know it is not a crime; however, you can clearly see the homophobic attitude here.

“Scandal” is a violation to the right of privacy and the right to work!

Is the decision really “breaking news”?

Lawyer Dikmen interprets the statement of “Breaking News Regarding The Decision” as:

“When ‘breaking news regarding the decision’ is stated, you think of a situation which is not expected, should not be expected after the court’s judgment and for this reason is shocking. If a person is fired because of his/her sexual orientation, the breaking news is the decision on not being re-employed; it is not the decision on being re-employed. The fact that a homosexual person works in a workplace and a judicial intervention prevents him/her being fired while working are clearly being pushed out of the realm of the ordinary here and it is implied that the ordinary situation is that a homosexual person does not work in a workplace or the court does not decide on reemployment after s/he is fired. Moreover, the statement as ‘a claim of homosexual relationship of 4 people’ develops the perception of homosexuality as a crime.”

Trans woman prisoner Buse is on hunger strike again

Lawyer Eren Keskin has announced via her social media account that trans woman prisoner Buse resumed her  hunger strike on January 31st.

Source: Trans Woman Prisoner Buse is on hunger strike again (Trans mahpus Buse tekrar ölüm orucunda) February 13, 2019 http://www.pembehayat.org/haberler/detay/2065/trans-mahpus-buse-tekrar-olum-orucunda

Prisoner and trans woman Buse, who was given a life sentence and is currently kept in Tekirdağ Prison, began a hunger strike in June last year because her access to  healthcare had been denied. When Buse’s lawyer Eren Keskin announced via her social media accounts that Buse began a hunger strike, she added “Trans woman Buse who is in Tekirdağ Prison has been on hunger strike for 21 days since her gender affirmation surgery is not being performed. She is asking for awareness.”

Buse, who started a hunger strike due to the fact that her gender reassignment surgery is not being performed, paused her resistance on the 38th day of her hunger strike, with support from outside the prison.

On hunger strike again
According to the social media post of Lawyer Eren Keskin via her Twitter account, trans woman prisoner Buse resumed the hunger strike on January 31st, because the Ministry of Health has prevented her access to adequate healthcare .

“I want to be set free from the prison in my body.”
Lawyer Eren Keskin, who had previously made a statement to a Pink Life Association reporter about the case process of trans woman prisoner Diren Coşkun, who undertook a hunger strike in past months in order to have her demands met, also made a statement about the process of Buse’s case. Diren Coşkun and Buse were previously in the same prison wing.

Keskin told Buse that she can file for a retrial since there were no lawyers present throughout her trial. As a response to this Buse said “I want to be set free from the prison of my body”.

23 years in prison
Derya Özata of Kadınlarla Dayanışma Vakfı (Women’s Solidarity Foundation), whom KaosGL.org contacted in relation to the infringements Buse has faced, stated that Buse has been kept in the prison for 23 years. She was given a life sentence, and has the report for the gender affirmation surgery, but the operation has yet to be performed . Özata also indicated that Buse said to the lawyer who visited  her that “I want to see my body as a woman’s body. I do not want to live in this body anymore. It is not even certain how long I will live, or whether I will ever come out of the prison.”

 

Parliamentary Question by HDP about Buse, a Trans Woman Prisoner

HDP Ankara Representative Filiz Kerestecioğlu proposed a parliamentary question about Buse, a trans woman and prisoner, who is not being referred to a hospital for her sex reassignment surgery.

Source: “Parliamentary Question by HDP about Buse, a Trans Woman Prisoner” (HDP’den trans kadın mahpus Buse için soru önergesi) February 6, 2019 http://kaosgl.org/sayfa.php?id=27537 

Filiz Kerestecioğlu, Ankara representative of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), proposed a parliamentary question concerning the obstruction of a sex reassignment surgery for Buse, who is a trans woman and prisoner, by the Ministry of Justice despite a court verdict deeming reassignment operations to be mandatory with regards to the mental health of the individual. HDP requested that Abdülhamit Gül, the Minister of Justice, respond.

“Do you think that the verdict by the Ministry which does not allow the surgery to be performed violates the prisoner’s right to healthcare?”

Kerestecioğlu posed the following questions to Minister of Justice Abdülhamit Gül:

Prisoner and trans woman Buse, who is currently serving time at Tekirdağ No. 2 F-type Men’s Prison, filed a suit approximately two and a half years ago in order to be able to undergo sex reassignment surgery. The court delivered a favorable verdict with “permission for surgery,” establishing that the operation was mandatory with regards to the mental health of the individual.

This verdict notwithstanding, the Ministry of Justice has not yet carried out her referral to a hospital and has been standing in the way of her surgery on the grounds that ‘the operation is mandatory but not urgent.’

As a trans woman, Buse is incarcerated at a men’s prison, as she has yet to have her sex reassignment surgery. For the past five  years, she has been held in solitary confinement.

She cannot benefit from access to such things as yard time and other social activities on account of the insufficient number of personnel. She is not permitted to socialize with the other prisoners on the grounds that “her safety cannot be guaranteed.”

The fact that Buse’s demand has been rejected with the explanation that “she can have the surgery once she is released” has no legal basis whatsoever, since it is clear that she will not be released from prison for at least another 15 years. This rejection also goes to show that the Ministry approves of continuing to hold her in solitary confinement as well as allowing her exposure to discriminatory practices. Buse’s only demand is to have surgeries, and to be transferred to a women’s prison afterwards.

In this regard,

  1. Do you think that the verdict reached by the Ministry not allowing the surgery to be performed violates the prisoner’s right to healthcare?
  2. What is the motive behind the Ministry’s re-request for opinion from the Institute of Forensic Sciences, despite the fact that the court has already delivered a verdict?
  3. When it comes to a surgery other than a sex reassignment surgery, is it a routine practice to re-request an opinion despite the court verdict?
  4. Do you consider it an act of discrimination when a prisoner cannot benefit from such things as yard time and other social activities on account of the insufficient number of personnel or when a prisoner is not permitted to socialize with the other prisoners on the grounds that “her safety cannot be guaranteed?”
  5. What kind of measures are being taken by the Ministry so as to prevent LGBTI+ prisoners from being exposed to discrimination?

4th Mediterranean Symposium Against Homophobia, Biphobia & Transphobia

 

Source: “4th Mediterranean Symposium Against Homophobia, Biphobia & Transphobia”, (4. Homofobi, Bifobi, Transfobi Karşıtı Akdeniz Sempozyumu Nasıl Geçti), kaosgl.org, January 25, 2019, http://kaosgl.org/sayfa.php?id=27450

 

Yağmur Arıcan of Mersin’s 7 Colors Association spoke with kaosgl.org about the 4th Mediterranean Symposium Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.

The 4th Mediterranean Symposium Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia was held on January 18-20 at the Mersin Kültürhane and the Atlıhan Hotel.

In the three-day event, mental health professionals, counselors, attorneys, labor unions and professional organizations discussed LGBTI+ rights. Yağmur Arıcan of the Mersin based 7 Colors Association spoke with kaosgl.org about the symposium events.

Arıcan said that this year they centered the symposium on mental healthcare, legal and labor rights, and organized it in collaboration with the Mersin Bar Association: “We prepared the program in collaboration with the Mersin Bar Association and throughout the planning process, we took local dynamics into consideration. On the first day of the symposium, we hosted psychologists and social workers, on the second day, attorneys and on the last day, labor unions and trade associations.”

Arıcan said that on the first day of the symposium, after Dr. Seven Kaptan’s presentation on the myths and facts about sexuality, psychologist Fahriye Cengiz of Mersin’s 7 Colors Association spoke about what needs be taken into consideration in LGBTI+ mental healthcare: “Apart from mental health professionals, families of LGBTI+ individuals also participated in this session. What emerged from these sessions was the decision to create a web for mental healthcare consultancy services. The session also helped raise the awareness of families of LGBTI+ individuals.”

“Attorney Bilgin Yeşilboğaz of the Mersin Bar Association gave the opening speech on the second day of the symposium. Yeşilboğaz talked about LGBTI+ rights. Afterwards, attorney Neşe Öztürk of the Hatay Bar Association talked about the legal procedures for transgender transition processes. Attorney Ahmet Çevik of the Antalya Bar Association talked about the legislation regarding sex work; Attorney Ezgi Özkan of the Mersin Bar Association talked about LGBTI+ client and attorney relations, and the last speaker, Attorney Hatice Karaca of the Ankara Bar Association talked about refugee LGBTI+ individuals’ access to law. After this session, attendees in Ahmet Toksöz’s workshop, split into groups of three and transformed a given case into a strategic case. This workshop was limited to only 45 attorney participants, but due to a high level of interest, we ended up having 60 participants. I think the most important outcome of this session was the decision for the bar association to create a web for legal consultancy services which has mostly been dependent on personal relations.”

Arıcan explained that the theme for the third day of the symposium was “labor”, focusing on LGBTI+ individuals’ relations with labor unions and trade associations. “The first speaker, Remzi Altunpolat of Kaos GL Association, talked about how the fight for rights could be made into a common pursuit. Özge Göncü, branch chair of Mersin Health and Social Services Labor Union (SES) talked about LGBTI+ visibility. The last speaker, Ayşe Jini Güneş of Mersin Chamber of Physicians talked about the healthcare breaches LGBTI+ individuals experience. The symposium ended with the screening of the film “Pride”.”

 

8th Pink Life QueerFest Programme

The 8th Pink Life QueerFest starts the festival season with the opening ceremony where Love, Scott will be screened. Both the opening concert and party will take place in Anahit Sahne on Thursday night, January 24. This year’s festival will be hosted by Kıraathane İstanbul Edebiyat Evi (Kıraathane İstanbul Literature House), Fransız Kültür Merkezi (French Cultural Center) and Tasarım Atölyesi Kadıköy (Design Workshop Kadıköy) on January 25-26-27th.

The festival is made possible with the support of the Norwegian Embassy, the German Embassy, the European Union Sivil Düşün Programme, the Embassy of Denmark, the Embassy of Finland, the French Cultural Center, the Embassy of the United Kingdom, the Embassy of the Netherlands, the Embassy of Canada and Movies That Matter.

Under the Rainbow

Here QueerFest announces the programme of its most popular section “Under the Rainbow”  which brings together critically acclaimed feature films.  The films to be shown this year are: Corpo Electrico (2017), Terror Nullius (2018), Malila: A Farewell Flower( 2017), Retablo (2017) and Rafiki (2018).

Corpo Electrico is an award-winning production and a highlight of Brazilian queer cinema. The realist film, which collected awards at various festivals including Queer Lisboa, portrays the story of a group of young people in their daily lives as they work in a textile factory. In the film, Elias starts working in a textile factory in São Paulo. As the workload increases with the upcoming holiday season, Elias begins to enter new social circles and encounters new emotions and experiences.

After the screening of the film, there will be a panel with the participation of a migrant LGBTI + textile worker from Denizli. The mechanisms of discrimination against LGBTI + individuals in such a labor-intensive sector will be discussed.

Terror Nullius takes its name from the phrase terra nullius which means “land without an owner”. The film is a noteworthy example of a successful queer mashup film both due to its content and style. Filmed in Sydney in 2002 and produced by a two-person art collective Soda Jerk, which produces works at the intersection of documentary and speculative fiction genres.  Terror Nulliusde constructs Australian cinema through its story taking place on the set of the production of “Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior”. The film is an eye opening criticism of colonialism and patriarchy.

Malila: A Farewell Flower was Thailand’s Oscar nomination for this year. The film deserves special attention due to its impressive cinematography and sober narrative.  Malila tells the story of Shane who is struggling with a terminal disease. The film narrates Shane’s union with their ex lover through the decorative art of “Bai Siri”, symbolizing the fragility of life and the inevitability of death. Director Anucha Boonyawatana’s first feature film Onthakan (2015) was also screened at the 5th Quer Fest.

Retablo was screened at the “Generation Films” selection of 2018 Berlinale Festival. The film takes its title from the art of “retablo” which illustrates religious stories with a technique bringing together sculpting and painting. Fourteen year old Segundo wants to become an esteemed “retablo” master just like their father and continue the family tradition. How will Segundo deal with the confrontation when their father’s secret life is revealed? Will Segundo join the mob hatred against their father, is there another way possible? The film was very well received by last year’s Berlinale audience and got the TEDDY award.

Rafiki is another exciting new production to greet the audience in the Under the Rainbow section of the festival. Rafiki was premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. It tells the story of two young women whose friendship turns into love, amidst the political differences of their families. The film was banned in Kenya, its country of production on the premises that it promoted homosexuality.

Queer Documentaries

The following films will be shown in Queer Documentaries section of the festival:

No Democracy Here, 2017, Dykes, Camera, Action!, 2018, Intersex (Entre Deux Sexes, 2017), A Deal with the Universe, 2018, Kaliarnta, 2015, Lunadigas or ‘Concerning Childfree Women’, 2016, Love, Scott, 2018, Bixa Travesty, 2018

Performance artist and activist Liad Hussein Kantorowicz uses BDSM as an allegory to question the mechanisms of democracy in No Democracy Here. As a dominatrix Liad Hussein Kantorowicz brings their right-wing obedient submissive “slaves” with dog collars under strict orders to vote for a party the “slaves” totally oppose (of course it’s consensual).

Dykes, Camera, Action! is about the cinema of queer woman coloring the silver screen. The focus is on the movement which out of the intersection of the Stonewall movement, activism, feminism, queer cinema and experimental cinema. Included in the film are many pioneer names such as Barbara Hammer and Cheryl Dunye.

Intersex, which attracted a lot of attention at Queer Lisboa, is an activism film telling the story of Vincent Guillot who after discovering themself to be intersex tries to meet with other intersex people. In the documentary, an illustrator, Ins A. Kromminga joins Vincent’s journey and the couple tell a story through personal experiences, feelings, narratives and Ins’s anime works. The film also witnesses the wedding of Vincent and their girlfriend, bringing together the intersex community. After the screening of the film on January 27th at the Tasarım Atölyesi Kadıköy, Vincent Guillot, Ins A Kromminga and the activist Şerife Yurtseven will come together for the panel “X: Transnational Intersex Activism” at Kıraathane Istanbul Edebiyat Evi.

Jason Baker is a trans director who had been a programmer for BFI Flare and had their short films screened in many festivals. A Deal with the Universe, Baker’s first feature film, is an autobiographical work comprised of Baker’s personal archives. The documentary premiered at BFI Flare and is a special work that delivers the story of how Jason became a parent through intimate and personal questioning. The film takes the viewer through debates on gender and new parenting.

Kaliarnta, will be shown in memory of the LGBTI + activist Zak Kostopoulos, who was murdered in a mob lynching in Athens. The documentary focuses on the Greek queer slang known as Kaliarnta. The film will be screened on January 25 at the Kıraathane Istanbul Edebiyat Evi, followed by a talk with the director Paola Revenioti.

Another interesting feature of the selection is a documentary Lunadigas or ‘Concerning Childfree Women, where the directors share their own stories as they discover the stories of women from a variety of different backgrounds, who can not or do not want to have children. After the screening of the film on 25th January at Tasarım Atölyesi Kadıköy, directors Nicoletta Nesler and Marilisa Piga and producer Susi Monzali will be with the audience for the question and answer event. After the screening of the film at Feminist Mekan on January 26th, the filmmakers and the producer will be with the audience again for the question-answer event. The same event will also host a forum titled Concerning Childfreeness with the participation of the film crew.

Love, Scott made its festival debut as the opening film at BFI Flare. Love Scott, recounts Scot Jones’s experiences and how they held onto life with the help of music for three years after being subjected to a traumatic hate crime. Scot’s story is a strong inspiring documentary as they renew their hope for life with the help of a choir. Scott Jones will be in Istanbul for the opening of KuirFest. Farsi subtitles will be available for this film.

Bixa Travesty won the TEDDY Best Documentary Award at the Berlin Film Festival. Witness the striking personality and dizzying world of Linn da Quebrada, a black trans performer and activist from the favelas of São Paulo. We recommend you not to miss the opportunity to meet with Quebrada who describes themself as a “gender terrorist”. Quebrada uses art and nudity as a radical tool to rebel against the heteronormative order.

Queer Series

KuirFest gives a special importance to online series as a way of opening a free expression field to LGBTI  stories. The festivals program has included the Queer Series for three years. This year Mixed Messages, 2017 will be screened. The mini-series depicting a lesbian Londoner’s dating adventures in Berlin’s queer environments conveys the unsuccessful and sometimes unfortunate experiences of its hero who eventually realizes that they are looking for love in the wrong places.

cULT

Introducing the history of cinema from the past to the present day, Pink Life QueerFest brings together queer productions and the festival audience by hosting the film Tongues Untied, 1989 in the ‘cULT’ section as we celebrate the festivals 30th anniversary this year. The film, which will be shown in its restored copy, is one of the most important examples of the performative documentary genre. Tongues Untied has a very special place in film history for its work in opening space for black, gay and HIV positive people to talk on their own behalf. Farsi subtitles by the renowned academic and translator, Fahri Öz, will be available for the film.

In previous years, KuirFest has given publicity to films from the black queer movement. Again this year, the  restored version of Buddies 1985 will be screened in the ‘cULT’ section. Buddies has a special place in cinema history in terms of  breaking down the prejudices about HIV positive people.

Ğ

Now it’s time for one of the most special sections of the festival ‘Ğ’. Bringing together queer productions and films about the LGBTİ+ movement with The Night, Melek and Our Children (1994). The Atıf Yılmaz directed cult film will be shown in this section as it is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary. The Night, Melek and Our Children is a must see film as it is one of the first films where we heard lubunca (Turkish queer slang) in Turkey cinema and includes real scenes of 1990s queer life. After the screening of the film on January 26 at Fransız Kültür Merkezi, poet and writer Yıldırım Türker, Deniz Türkali (an actress involved in the film) and Metin Akdemir (the director of the film) will discusses female sexuality and censorship in the conversation entitled ‘Scenes that can not be shot’.

SHORT SELECTIONS

Pink Life gives space for short films that contribute to the queering of cinema. Within the scope of the festival program, a total of seven short films will be shown this year and on this topic QueerFest has cooperated with programmers from around the world just like every other year.

London based “Fringe! Queer Arts Festival” prepared the section entitled Fringe! Shorts Selection: You came in Like a Wrecking Ball. The section features innovative productions that explore the boundaries of cinematic expression. After the screening held on January 25 at Kıraathane Istanbul Edebiyat Evi, Fringe! Queer Film & Art Festival programmer Muffin Hix will meet with the audience at a question-answer event.

 Mix Copenhagen Nordic Lights Short Selection by Mix Copenhagen LGBT Film Festival is prepared for this year’s QueerFest and features themes of body and prejudice. Andrea Coroma programmer of Mix Copenhagen LGBT Film Festival who prepared the selection will meet with the audience at question-answer event after the screening at the Tasarım Atölyesi Kadikoy on January 25th.

Theresa Health, founder of Wotever DIY Film Festival, shares the selection of shorts at the intersection of queerness and Dis/ability with the title An Unashamed Claim to Beauty: Short Films at the Intersection of Queerness and Dis/ability. Following the screening of the selection at Tasarım Atölyesi Kadikoy, Health will join the question- answer event.

The films in the short selection titled Revolting Bodies by the QueerFest program will also challenge the assumptions and demands placed on our body perception by the hegemonic system. Another QueerFest short selection entitled  queerdom of memories will bring together films that question personal and collective memory.

There are frame breaking productions in the Masculinities! Shorts Selection. Thomas Hakim, the director of Still Waiting will meet the QueerFest audience at a question-answer event. Still Waiting is a special story on the experiences, dreams and desires of Anton after Alexandre’s death.

Shorts from Turkey has a special place in the festival again this year. Films, Rüya by Sinan Göknur, A Bike Story by Umut Erdem, Archive of Feelings: Radical Compassion by Gizem Aksu, Room Ex by Demhat Aksoy, Another Matter by Bahar Kılıç Adilçe and Hulusi Nusih Tütüncü, Tanışma by Öykü Aytulun and the project Films for Change by Ezgi Şahin, Demhat Aksoy, Uzay Nagodre and Umut Erdem will be screened in the scope of the selection.

FESTIVAL EVENTS

The Festival program includes panels, talks, round table discussions and a performance workshop:

ROUNDTABLE: Queer Performance: Chances/Challenges/Chances

January 25, 18.00, Dramaqueer

The conceptual framework of Tanz im August comes to QueerFest with Brenda Dixon-Gottchild’s permission and the moderation of Gizem Aksu. Brenda Dixon-Gottchild presents a conceptual framework for three women choreographers from three different continents. In this discussion, we will focus on chance, conflict and transformation that lie in the interaction of the political, economical and socio-cultural aspects within the personal histories of the artists. The roundtable participants include Liad Hussein Kantorowics, with her film There Is No Democracy Here screening in the Queer Documentaries category, Maria Dolores from Athens Queer Arts Museum, Hülya Dolaş from Dramaqueer and performance artist Leman Sevda Darıcıoğlu.

TALK: QUEER WORKERS IN TEXTILE INDUSTRY SPEAK

January 25, 19.15, Kıraathane Istanbul Edebiyat Evi

A conversation with queer textile workers, titled “Queer Mensucat Inc.: Queer Workers in Textile Speak”, will follow the screening of the film Electric Body in the Under the Rainbow category.  In this talk, discrimination against LGBTI+ people working in the labor-intensive textile industry will be discussed.

PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP WITH GIZEM AKSU

January 26, 13.30-16.00

Artist Gizem Aksu’s solo performance YU, shown in many festivals, explores the body’s organic wisdom. Produced for the 4th Mardin Biennial, the installation, Shelter, Barricade, Nature, focuses on the absence of the body. To celebrate the multiplicities and the abundance of the body, they bring the object constructed for the installation Shelter, Barricade, Nature to this performance workshop, making it available to a queer context and performance artists. In this workshop, attendees will experience being performance researchers and experiment with performative propositions towards queer constructions of the body, movement and perception. Anyone open to performative experimentation can attend this workshop. Because of the limited number of space available, please send an email to [email protected] if you wish to attend. 

PANEL: ERROR IN HATE.DLL

January 26, 14.15, Tasarım Atölyesi Kadikoy

The panelists will point to how hate speech is not a regional but a universal problem by looking at examples from Canada, Turkey and Greece and by sharing experiences from their personal and professional lives. In this panel, you will hear from victims of hate crimes and their attorneys as they discuss how the way we use language may turn to hate speech and lead to hate crimes.

Pink Life LGBTT Solidarity Organization’s law consultant Emrah Şahin will moderate the panel. The panelists include lead actor Scott Jones in Dear Scott, lawyer Eren Keskin, Turkey’s first openly transgender lawyer candidate Efruz Kaya and Anna Apostotelli, an activist who has been part of queer and feminist groups in Athens for twenty years.

PANEL: X: TRANSNATIONAL INTERSEX ACTIVISM

January 26, 17.45, Kıraathane Istanbul Edebiyat Evi

This panel will discuss intersex activism by looking at examples and experiences of intersex people from around the world, intersex gatherings that cross borders and the struggles intersex people face in different locales. Panelists include Ins A Kromminga from Germany, Vincent Guillot from France and Vreer Sirenu from Holland. Intersex activist, Şerife Yurtseven will be moderating the panel.

TALK: NIGHT, ANGEL AND OUR QUEERS

January 26, 19.15, Fransız Kültür Merkezi

Atıf Yılmaz’s film Night, Angel and our Queers will meet with QueerFest audience in a special screening for the film’s 25th anniversary. Atıf Yılmaz became known as a director of women’s films in Turkish cinema and of movies that created subtle unease. The film Night, Angel and our Queers left its mark during the director’s time.

After the screening of Night, Angel and our Queers, the film’s screenplay writer Yıldırım Türker with “Angel”, Deniz Türkali with Scenes That Couldn’t Be Shot, a film about women sexuality in Turkish cinema, and Metin Akdemir will discuss queerness and sexuality in 80s and 90s Turkish cinema and the time period itself. Esma Akyel will moderate the panel.

FORUM: CONCERNING CHILDFREENESS

January 26, 19.30, Feminist Mekan

The forum will take place after the film in the Queer Documentary series, Lunadigas or About Childless Women. The discussion will center on the experiences of women without children or women who choose not to have children.

TALK: THE GOOD CITIZEN: STATE, ELECTION, WHIP: ON POLITICAL BDSM WITH LIAD & NOIR

January 26, 20.00, Kıraathane Istanbul Edebiyat Evi

After the screening of Liad Hussein Kantorowicz’s performance film, There is no Democracy Here, translator, editor, writer, poet researcher Gülkan Noir and Kantorowicz will have a multifaceted discussion about the political concepts in the film and how these intersect with erotic / pornographic issues and the political foundations of BDSM.

TALK: QUEERATION: QUEER PROGRAMMERS TALK

January 27, 15.00, Kıraathane Edebiyat Evi

How are the programs for queer festivals organized? What is given priority during the selection process? What sensitivities are taken into consideration? Queer festival programmers will talk about how festivals are organized in Europe and share their experiences on the organizing process. Esra Özban (QueerFest) will moderate the talk. The participants include Ricke Mericke (Queer Lisboa), Theresa Heath-Ellul (Wotever DIY Film Festival), Muffin Hix (Fringe! Queer Arts Festival) and Andrea Coloma (Mix Copenhagen).

FORUM: QUEER FILMMAKERS ON BOARD

January 27, 17.45, Kıraathane Edebiyat Evi

This forum will bring together the directors and their teams with queer filmmakers, after the screening Shorts from Turkey, to discuss issues on the conditions and challenges of film production, screening and distribution in Turkey. We invite all those who make or want to make queer cinema in Turkey to this forum.

Share your Festival memories with the hash tags #ÇokGüzelsinYasakMısın and #URPrettyRUBanned.

For more information:

[email protected]

www.pembehayatkuirfest.org

www.instagram.com/kuirfest

www.facebook.com/PembeHayatKuirFest

https://twitter.com/kuirfest