Sexuality & Culture (2017) 21:287–299 DOI 10.1007/s12119-016-9394-6 ORIGINAL PAPER
Socio-political Attitude Towards Lesbians in Turkey Meltem Ince Yenilmez1
Published online: 18 November 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016
Abstract This article explores issues of discrimination involving lesbians in Turkey. It analyzes and brings into focus fundamental human rights issues being faced by lesbians in Turkey with the aim of ascertaining why such discrimination still persist in the twenty-first century. The finding of this study reveals that the lesbian identity, or simply queer identity, in Turkey experiences a combination of silencing and suffocating factors: ethics, discourse, religious and state-sanctioned laws, and/or homophobic violence which, in turn, leads to systematic breaches of the social rights of lesbians in employment, housing, family life, education, public life and health care. It further reveals that even a strong social policy that is universal, like the first article of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), fails to put lesbians and other queer individuals on an equal footing with other citizens unless equal citizenship rights of lesbians and anti-discrimination principles are recognized and realized. Keywords Lesbians Sexual discrimination LGBT issues
Introduction Article 1 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) states that ‘‘All human beings are born free and with equal dignity and rights…’’. Although adopted in 1948, there remain some groups of people yet to enjoy equal dignity and rights. Lesbians and other queer individuals in Turkey are in this category.
& Meltem Ince Yenilmez
[email protected] 1
Department of Economics, Yasar University, Izmir, Turkey
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Lesbians in Turkey experience legal difficulties that are not normally faced by non-LGBT persons. These discriminations could be in form of harassment, ostracism, being fired or forced to resign and mobbing by various institutions, such as the state, the military, religion and the laws. According to Cayir and Ceyhan (2012) every element that is different from the norms based on certain values experiences discriminatory treatment in Turkey. Since moral and religious values are important and LGBT people are seen as non-compliant with these values, they experience negative treatment in Turkey (Kaos 2009). This article aims to give an overview of the current and most crucial theoretical elements for a queer-feminist discourse dealing with the attitudes toward lesbians in Turkish society and explores the experiences of such individuals. It also presents a feminist framework about whether lesbians and gay men are perceived differently. This study of Turkish sexualities is relatively new and very little contemporary research has been conducted on it in the literature. Historical Overview of Turkey Turkey occupies a strategic position in the world in terms of its geographic location, being a link between Europe and Asia. In contrast to other Islamic states, Turkey is often seen as a Modern Islamic state with secular democracy (Davutoglu 2008). Due to its geographical location, Turkey is influenced by European values, and has taken many steps to embrace many of these values. But in spite of this, Islamic traditional values seem to have taken root in many of the country’s institutions. To fully grasp why gender inequality and hetero-normative system continue, we would need to briefly look at the socio-political and economic changes the country has experienced since the formation of the Republic in 1923. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Republic of Turkey was established as a secular democratic state under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. During this period, Turkey witnessed dramatic social, cultural, political and economic transitions that led to the implementation of wide-ranging reforms. These reforms were aimed at making the country embrace western European values and, as a result, they embraced modernization and secularism. They also set out to weaken the power of religion (Pope and Pope 1997). The beginning of the political reforms saw the abolition of the Caliphate. Secularism was adopted along with the Swiss code. As part of the effort geared at modernization was the implementation of secular education, adoption of the Turkish language as the official language, and the Latin alphabet. There were bans placed on the wearing of religious attires like headscarves and fezzes in government institutions. Gender equality was also given attention. A ban was placed on polygamy, women received equal access to divorce and inheritance, and also the right to vote and stand for elective positions. According to Engin (2015) these reforms aimed to weaken the power of religion in government institutions, infusing Turkish culture with Western liberal ideas to create a new type of citizenship and a modern society. The goal was to remove Islam from public affairs through state control. In spite of the achievement recorded so far, these reforms have never included laws protecting lesbians and other queer individuals.
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History of LGBT Community in Turkey LGBT individuals in Turkey, like in many countries of the world, were not visible. They existed but never in the open. According to a report prepared by Kaos Gay and Lesbian Cultural Research and Solidarity Association (2005), the gay culture in Turkey became visible in male-dominated public about 4 decades ago. A group of well-educated and economically independent gays and lesbians had begun a political conversation with one another by the end of the 1970s. The result was the establishment of support groups among the lesbians and gays of Izmir (Kaos 2005). However, these support groups, along with all other non-government organizations, were after the 1980 military coup. By 1987, homosexuals were facing police harassment at an alarming degree. Although the media was aware of this, they chose to turn a blind eye. Kaos (2015) reports that, as way of protest, thirty-seven gay and transgendered individuals started a hunger strike. These protesters also sought the help of the newly formed Radical Democrat Green Party. This was the first ever-public action that was taken by the Turkish LGBT community. Although this action achieved no solid results, the protest got attention both locally and internationally. It was not until the 1990s that the LGBT community in Turkey became more visible. The most famous event during this period occurred in 1993 in Istanbul when an attempt was made to organize an LGBT pride conference. The pride conference was named the Christopher Street Day Sexual Liberation Activities. According to Kaos (2005), it was originally scheduled for July 2–6, 1993. However, at the last minute the governor of Istanbul banned it. The ban was on the grounds that it would be contrary to the traditions and moral values of Turkey and that it might disturb the peace. This was in spite the fact that the Interior Ministry had previously provided the organizer’s approval to conduct the event. During this period, the Turkish authorities detained about 28 foreign delegates. Most of these detainees were on their way to a press conference in protest of the ban at the time of their arrest. These delegates were detained for a long time and threatened with strip searches and HIV tests. They were later deported to Germany by means of a Turkish airliner. The most impressive outcome of this incident was the establishment of Lambda, Istanbul. Even to this day, this is the liveliest LGBT organization in Turkey. June ¨ DP) (Kaos 2005). This 1994 saw the formation of Freedom and Solidarity Party (O became the first legal political party to champion issues relating to the Turkish LGBT community. In addition, it became the first legally recognized political party to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity at all levels of the organization. In September 1995, the government of Istanbul stopped a second planned LGBT conference. According Kaos (2005), Lambda Istanbul announced the city government’s anti-democratic actions to the free world through the Internet and Reuters. Despite the Turkish media’s failure to report these developments, the international media did, and the Turkish Ministries of Internal Affairs and Culture received overwhelming national and international protests. In June 1996, the Supreme Court in Turkey ruled against permitting a lesbian mother to raise her child. According to the ruling, this would threaten the moral development of the child. This judgment over ruled the judgment of a lower court that had granted a
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lesbian mother the custody of her 2 years old daughter. The Supreme Court characterized the mother as, ‘‘a woman who has a [sexual] habit in the degree of sickness’’ and granted the father the custody of the child. As LGBT persons in Turkey became more visible, so also were they severely prosecuted. Just before the United Nations Human Settlement Program (HABITAT Conference) held in Istanbul in 1996, transgendered people who had been living in the Ulker Street area, in the Cihangir district of Istanbul, were driven from their homes, arrested and subjected to violence and torture. Since 1998, Kaos (2005) reveals that Turkish LGBT groups have been holding semi-annual meeting in Ankara and in Istanbul and following the establishment these LGBT organizations in Ankara and Istanbul, new organizations began to appear in other cities, including Pink Triangle Group in Izmir and Rainbow Group in Antalya. Groups serving specific needs within the LGBT community such as Bear Anatolia and Bears of Turkey have also become more active in the recent years. With the help of the Internet and other communication technologies, the number of LGBT organizations that target different aims and interests is expected to increase. February 1999 saw the first LGBT person run for local council election in ¨ DP) Istanbul, Demet Demir on the platform of the Freedom and Solidarity Party’s (O Beyoglu district organization. May 2001 saw the first LGBT open participation in public demonstration and in June 2003, Lambda Istanbul celebrated its tenth Gay Pride week and the anniversary of its establishment. For the first time in Turkey’s history, about 50 LGBT activists marched down Istiklal Street in Istanbul. Since 2003, Lambda Istanbul has organized yearly pride march and events in Istanbul (Kaos 2005). The justice commission in the Turkish Parliament in July 2004 ruled out antidiscrimination proposal based on sexual orientation as a crime. The parliament decided to replace the discrimination clause in the Penal Code with the existing discrimination clause in the Constitution (Article No. 10). While prohibiting discrimination based on language, race, skin color, gender, political opinion, religion, denomination, and similar reasons, the Constitution does not directly refer to sexual orientation. In September of the same year, Kaos (2005) reports that demonstrators from LGBT groups staged a protest in front of the Turkish Parliament March alongside women’s rights group against the legislation, which makes no reference to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The craving of Turkey to participate in the EU has put pressure on the government to officially acknowledge LGBT rights. Gay marches are now being held annually and expanding despite little cooperation from the government. The gay pride walk in Istanbul began with 30 individuals in 2003, and in 2010 the number reached 5000. More than 15,000 individuals attended the pride parades in 2011 and 2012. On 30 June 2013, the pride parade took in about 100,000 people (Human Right Watch 2008). On 9 January 2012, Serdar Arseven, one of the writers of an Islamist daily paper called Yeni Akit, composed an article that labeled LGBT individuals as deviants. The Court of Cassation fined Yeni Akit 4000 and Serdar Arseven 2000 TL because of the disdainful discourse (ILGA-Europe 2013). On 17 July 2014, Turkey’s Supreme Court decided that alluding to gays as ‘‘perverted’’
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constitutes hate speech. The history of LGBT individual is one that is still unfolding by the day as battles are still being won and lost. Feminist Conception of Lesbians and Gay Men Lesbians and gay men have all experienced the discrimination and persecution that stem from living in a heterosexist society. But aside from this there are many areas in which lesbians and gay men are likely to differ in experience and thinking. According to Auchmuty et al. (1992: 104), lesbian history is not just the study of lesbian lives in the past but also the study of the heterosexual patriarchy—a society organized in the interests of men—which determined the form that they took and the form of their resistance. Lesbian liberation, like women’s liberation generally, will not be achieved until all the institutions of male power are overthrown. According to them, the fact that gay men are clearly critical of compulsory heterosexuality is not because it oppresses women. And unlike women, gay men have no reason to criticize any other institutions of patriarchy since these works to their benefit (Auchmuty et al. 1992). Hunt (1989: 98) explains the difference between the lesbian and the gay male approach in her discussion of gay movements within religion. According to her, for most feminists who are lesbians, the primary contradiction in a patriarchal church is being a woman. A secondary contradiction is being a lesbian. This is quite different for gay men because for them the primary contradiction is being gay, while being a man is a source of sameness in the institutional church. It is not possible simply to tinker with one or another aspect of the church’s teaching about homosexuality as some gay men do (Bilancetti 2011). A lesbian feminist critique begins with the same feminist critique, which has been leveled, by feminist theologians and activists for the past 20 years. This difference presented by Hunts summarizes the difference between the two groups and consequently we could safely say that a lesbian and gay perspective exists. Stanley (1982: 191) is firm in her view that lesbians are oppressed not because they are homosexual but because they are women who threaten patriarchal society by choosing not to prioritize men: ‘‘More than any other women… lesbians threaten something essential to the definition and construction of masculinity and male power within sexist society’’. Both movements have been depicted as parallel having fought side by side over issues like parenting, partners, but clearly their focus is on different goals. Lesbian history clearly belongs in women’s studies. Women’s studies are less antithetical to the lesbian perspective than gay studies; women’s studies courses are run by women and take feminism as a starting-point. Gay men are still men; and although some are doubtless sympathetic to lesbians out of a sense of their shared oppression, they often lack insight into—even knowledge of—the particular oppression of women. Discrimination and Current Status of the Lesbian Population In Turkey, lesbians face oppressive treatment and mistreatment on the premise of their sexual orientation or gender identity as in many countries of the world. They
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are vulnerable to viciousness—including assault, torment, and murder—both by private citizens and government officials. Their social and economic rights are hampered, and they are regularly constrained by their families and groups into socially acknowledged sexual orientation personalities and heterosexual group relationships so that they can stay away from social segregation, and savagery. While homosexuality is not banned in Turkish society, it is largely viewed as immoral and unnatural behavior. Discrimination in Employment and at the Workplace Discrimination at the workplace refers to a situation when individuals within an institution and/or an institution enact unfair terms and service conditions that impair the ability of members of a group to work (Rospenda et al. 2009). This fear of being discriminated against drives lesbian employees to hide their identity ¨ zturk 2011; Day and Schoenrade 2000: 347–348; Ragins et al. 2001: orientation (O 1246). They cannot come out to disclose their sexual orientation and this can have psychological impact on them resulting in decreased productivity or efficiency, non-cohesive work teams, poor communication or destructive conflict among workers (Day and Schoenrade 2000: 147). Although law does not forbid being a lesbian, there are some articles in labor laws that allow the employees to fire people based on immorality. If a person is fired because of their sexual orientation, the employers can claim that they are exercising their right to fire their worker because she leads an immoral life. In such a case, only the judge who works on such case can decide if that person’s lifestyle is immoral or not. If the pressure of religious and cultural beliefs that being a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender is immoral influences the judge, then they can arrive at a decision that this is an immoral act. The rectification and approval of such judgment by the Supreme Court, such a ruling becomes a precedent on which further decisions would be based. This increases the problem of invisibility and thus delays social transformation. Discrimination in Education LGBT persons face discrimination in education. Right to education is regulated in Article 42 of the Constitution where it states that every citizen has a right to education. Besides this, laws and policies do not provide any adequate protection for students, staff and teachers of different sexual orientations. The school curriculum does not include sexual education while sexual orientation is still not taught in many universities. Hence lesbians and other queer individuals face many forms of discrimination in the educational system. According to European Commission Report (2013), there were cases of teachers being dismissed from their jobs due to the disclosure of their sexual identity accepted as ‘‘immoral’’ or ‘‘impure’’. High school and university students were also reported to face discrimination, including pressure to leave schools.
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Discrimination in Health Generally, there are two main issues lesbians and other queer individual in Turkey face when it comes to healthcare: The first one involves obstacles to accessing healthcare, and the second is discrimination while receiving healthcare services. Health insurance is a very important factor in accessing healthcare and since many lesbians are excluded from the work force due to the discriminatory approaches in society, they have little or no access to health insurance. Without health insurance, they do not have medical coverage. Moreover, working in a vocation decidedly influences one’s personal wellbeing, lesbians are influenced by unemployment. Secondly, because of the high risk of stigmatization faced by lesbians in society, they experience significant problem in accessing quality treatment from hospital staff as homosexuality is considered an illness even among some medical professionals in Turkey. Discrimination in Housing Gender expectations and the customary requirement to marry complicate access to housing for lesbians. It is perceived unusual to live alone if you are above a certain age, and many landlords prefer to rent out only to married couples. In particular, single ladies are unwanted as tenants. Some LGBT NGOs reported several known incidents where persons of the same sex sharing an apartment had been forced to move due to allegations that they were having a same-sex relationship (regardless of whether it was true or not). When cases like these occur, they tend not to be brought to court because many of the affected individuals do not want the exposure that could come with such a case; especially since there are no laws applicable to landlords and house owners upon the eviction of lesbians. ¨ z (2011), lesbians and other transgender persons living in Ulker According to O Street in Istanbul were attacked by other people living in the same street in 1996. The reason is they did not want to live with them. Selek (2007) researched this case and writes that the state failed to protect lesbians and the transgender women and as a result, they were forced to move from Ulker Street and no case was filed against ¨ z (2011) again revealed that a the violators and consequently there was no charge. O similar attack happened in 2006 in the neighborhood called Eryaman in Ankara. The state again failed to protect the lesbians and transgender women and all of them were forced to move from Eryaman. Even though the laws ensures equal rights to the ownership to land and homes without any form of discrimination on gender identity, lesbian couples do not have the right to the inheritance of each other, hence they cannot be next of kin. Despite this, there is no law restricting landlords from discriminating against LGBT persons. There is also no restriction in the law against the resettlement of same-sex couples. There is no special arrangement in the law for people belonging to different social groups. There is no difference between citizens. With regards to ousting, each national has the same rights.
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Discrimination in Public Life Part of the discrimination in public life faced by lesbians is the violation of rights to freedom of assembly and association. In November 2013, the governing administration of Turkey’s Van province—in eastern Turkey—threatened to file a lawsuit to shut down the Youth and Ecology Association, a student environmentalist group, citing Article 2(27) of the group’s charter, which states that it will ‘‘work on the rights of people with different sexual orientations’’. The Directorate claimed that the clause violates Article 56 of the Turkish Civil Code, which states ‘‘no association can be formed for an object contrary to laws and ethics’’ (LGBT News 2014). The reasoning of the Directorate that differing sexual orientations are contrary to law and ethics represents a disregard for the notion that every individual have equal right to protection under the law. It is the lack of explicit legal protection based on sexual orientation and gender identity that has allowed government officials to apply their own interpretation of ‘‘ethics’’ in order to violate or limit the fundamental rights of lesbians. Again, the prevailing culture in Turkey is based on fear of women’s sexuality, which forces them to live with men. This is why it is very hard for a woman to accept herself as a lesbian and to build a lesbian life. Women in Turkey represent the ‘‘honor’’ of their families and community. Sometimes, even women living alone are regarded as prostitutes. Women do not feel safe when walking in the street or sometimes in their homes. The community does not allow women to form any sort of self-confidence. They are expected to obey men, their families, and the community as a whole. Maybe the most important problem in Turkey is that a person is seen as a woman or man well before being seen as a human being. Gender roles have an enormous pressure on individuals, and especially on women. Under such circumstances, lesbians are exposed to discrimination for both their gender as well as their sexual orientation. Family Life and Psychiatry Because of the way society perceive same sex relationship, some lesbians do not openly declare their sexual orientation. Those who somehow dare to come out in front of their families are punished in several ways. Some are not even allowed to go out and some families force them to go to psychiatrists in order to be treated. Contrary to the acceptable professional rules, some of the psychiatrists accept homosexuality as an illness and try to rid lesbians of their sexual orientation. Kaos (2015) has some projects regarding this issue and is currently providing workshops in order to raise the understanding of psychiatrists regarding LGBT issues and to educate them that being an LGBT individual is not an illness. ¨ z (2011), in Same-sex partners are not recognized by the state. According to O Turkish law, there is no law allowing or prohibiting adoption by lesbians and guy persons. But the law does not recognize adoption by same-sex couples. Adoption by a single parent is allowed under some circumstances. And second parent adoption is also allowed.
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With regard to the conditions for lesbians within their families, the LGBT organizations describe a social pressure to get married once you reach a certain age—a pressure that leads many lesbians to marry according to the wishes of their families. The pressure is particularly hard on women, but of course this varies depending on, for example, the social status and traditions of the family and in which part of the country it is situated—with more possibilities to organize a life without heterosexual marriage in the larger cities than in the rural areas. Media and Freedom of Speech Discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity has remained an issue in Turkish media. The Radio and Television Supreme Council and the Turkish Press Council established to monitoring the contents of radio, television and newspaper. While discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, age, health conditions, disability, social status and religion, are prohibited, discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity remains and as a result, television channels can be fined for airing movies of same sex couples kissing and the likes. In addition, the mainstream media seems to deliberately distort the truth or suffer from some kind of ignorance about the reality of lesbians. They identify LGBT issues, yet they focus on male homosexuality and not lesbian issues. The mainstream media systematically presents male homosexuality as a marginal phenomenon that belongs to only famous people and artists. Likewise, the noticeable lesbians in Turkey, for the most part, have a place with upper financial and social classes in light of the fact that their monetary privilege permits them to be out. This is the reason that the lesbians who fit in with lower financial and social classes are rarely obvious and not reflected in the media by any means. Accordingly, lesbianism is thought to be a privileged marvel. The political struggles and campaigns that the lesbian women pursue are not mentioned in mainstream media, unless they are distorted, since they are not regarded as popular news. According to Kaos (2005), the media tries to represent lesbianism as a marginal phenomenon and this makes it impossible for lesbians to find role models. The authorities do not seem to encourage media professionals in the fight against homophobia either are there policy or programme on the issue. Violation of the rights of lesbians to free speech is another issue. For instance, according to Kaos (2013) Turkish courts have censored and blocked gay social networking applications based on Law No. 5651 on Regulating Broadcasting in the Internet and Fighting against Crimes Committed through Internet Broadcasting. LGBTI News (2013) reports that in August of 2013, one of the Penal Chambers of the Supreme Court of Appeals in Istanbul ordered a publishing house to stand trial for translating and publishing a novel with ‘‘homosexual content’’, citing Article 226 of the country’s Criminal Code on ‘‘indecency’’. In a similar vein, Turkey’s Supreme Board of Radio and Television fined a TV network for ‘‘promoting homosexuality’’ by airing a music video in which two females behaved in a manner that could suggest they were in a romantic relationship (LGBTI News Turkey 2014). The same Radio and Television Supreme Council fined some TV channels, such as CNBC-E and Movie-Max, several times for the same ‘‘offence’’. These kinds of
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government regulations that require imposing fines on a network simply for airing a video that may ‘‘promote’’ homosexuality is the very definition of limiting free speech. Government’s Attitude Towards the Lesbians’ Problems The government does not sufficiently support the feminist movement in Turkey. Consequently, most Turkish women are not conscious about feminism, and so their awareness of lesbianism is very limited. Even though LGBT identities have never been outlawed, the law tends to ignore the existence of lesbians and other queer persons by not making any law in favor of or against them (Kaos 2005). As a reflection of this reality, LGBT persons and groups face discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, trampling their very fundamental and basic human rights. Although there are now five legally registered LGBT organizations, the LGBT groups’ rights to freedom of association have been violated many times and the government tried, at one point or another, to close down all of these organizations. Books composed on LGBT issues are seized and edited so that LGBT persons can’t utilize their entitlement to freedom of expression in the same way. Internet access to LGBT websites is often censored by filter programs that are used in internet cafes and universities. The law frequently ignores hate crimes against LGBT persons. The number of hate crimes against LGBT persons is quite high. The courts tend to reduce the sentences of murderers by accepting their reasons to murder as unjust provocation (Soyle 2011; BIA Haber 2012). According to Article 29 of the Turkish Criminal Code, ‘‘A person committing an offense with effect of anger or asperity caused by an unjust act is sentenced to imprisonment from 18 to 24 years instead of heavy life imprisonment, and to imprisonment from 12 to 18 years instead of life imprisonment’’ (Turkish Criminal Code 2004). The Code does not define or set criteria for what constitutes an ‘‘unjust act’’, leaving it up to the sentencing judge to determine whether an assault or murder was the result of ‘‘unjust provocation’’. As a result, The European Commission, Turkey Progress Report (2013), says that judges have routinely used this article to reduce the sentences of those who have killed LGBT individuals. As recent as February 26, 2014, LGBTI News reports that a man who killed a trans woman was given an ‘‘unjust provocation’’ sentence reduction from life to 18 years. According to the verdict, the ‘‘unjust act’’ was the victim’s ‘‘being a transvestite’’. According to the same article, the defendant had claimed ‘‘he beat the victim in anger because she was a transvestite and she propositioned him’’. The Court stated in the verdict that the defendant’s statement might be true, and was thus sufficient for a reduced sentence under the ‘‘unjust provocation’’ provision of Article 29. Members of the Turkish Administration have never publicly denounced discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; instead, some have openly made derogatory remarks about homosexuality that demonstrate their lack of commitment to providing equal protection for LGBT community members. For examples, in 2010, former State Minister of the Affairs of Women and Families,
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Aliye, stated that she believes ‘‘homosexuality is a biological disorder, a disease… something that needs to be treated’’ (Hurriyet Daily News 2010). In a 2011 speech on terrorism, former Minister of the Interior Idris Naim Sahin spoke disparagingly of ‘‘an environment in which there are all sorts of immorality, indecency and inhuman situations—from pork meat to … homosexuality’’ (Kaos 2011) and in 2012, Ankara mayor and member of the ruling Justice and Development Party Melih Go¨kc¸ek spoke of homosexuality as contrary to Turkish culture; he remarked, ‘‘Each society has its own moral values. Especially for our Turkish society, it is not possible for us to be together with the gay culture in Europe. It is also not possible to approve of this. How we have been brought up, our brand of morality, our views are a little different. I hope to God that in Turkey there will not be a gay and there should not be’’ (Dailymotion). These statements by government officials with a legal responsibility to protect all persons stimulate discrimination and violence against LGBT persons, and only serve to propagate an attitude of hostility toward people of differing sexual orientations and gender identities.
Conclusion Turkey has always been somewhere between the West and the East. Its way of life incorporates both Western and Eastern qualities. In some cases, these qualities conflict with one another. A striking illustration of this conflict is the battle for human rights by Turkish lesbians and other queer individuals/groups. Providing solutions to the problems of the Turkish lesbian community will be one of the litmus tests for the future of the democracy in Turkey, as well as inclusion in the European Union. Although the Turkish Republic was founded as a secular state, traditional Islamic values remain omnipresent in most government and societal institutions. This impact on the Turkish approach has brought about an alarming level of institutionalized discrimination for individuals who do not fit the prevailing heteroregularizing gender standards and sexual characters. Their oppression is a result of the patriarchal regime that punishes same-sex relations under Islamic beliefs. Religiosity contributes to the social and legal punishment of those who do not conform to rigid gender norms. Individuals, who fall outside the categories of socially acceptable norms of gender binaries, are ostracized, and often subjected to emotional and physical violence. Moreover, the Turkish legal system ‘‘underpunishes’’ those who commit hate crimes against lesbians and other queer individuals, often imposing only small fines or minor jail time because LGBT status is considered an abnormality in the eyes of the state law. It has been a tough for lesbians and other queer individuals in Turkey and there is still a long way to go if they are to enjoy freedom. Certain reforms and policy changes still need to be adopted by the Turkish government in order to reduce the cases of discrimination against lesbians and other queer individuals. Adopting an anti-discriminatory law on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is a good place to start. The government needs to take administrative measures, both on the national and local levels, to prohibit and prevent discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in order to provide effective protection to
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lesbians and other queer individuals in Turkey. The inclusion of the terms ‘‘sexual orientation’’ and ‘‘gender identity’’ in constitutional clauses on equality and nondiscrimination, as well as in hate crimes legislation, would also go a long way in achieving this. On another note, in spite of the many challenges faced by lesbians in Turkey, there are reasons to be optimistic. LGBT movements are becoming more vocal and active, especially since the 1990s and the momentum has steadily increased. LGBT issues are now being discussed in the media and in academics. Some parliamentarians and political parties have also begun to defend LGBT rights. The inception of the internet has also had a tremendous effect particularly on lesbians residing in the provincial regions. They can now speak with other lesbians often, transparently, and namelessly and also set up contact with the outside world.
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