A New Step for Visibility of Turkish Lesbians and Transgenders
For the first time lesbians and transgenders from Lambda Istanbul joined the rally for International Women’s Day.
Since 2001, Lambda Istanbul and Kaos GL in Ankara participated in different demonstrations including May 1st Labor Day Celebrations and anti-war demonstrations. Demonstrators from these two LGBT groups also marched with women’s rights groups on September 15, 2004 in front of the Turkish Parliament to protest the proposed legislation, which gives no reference to discrimination based on sexual orientation.
And this year, for the first time lesbians and transgenders from Lambda Istanbul joined the rally for International Women’s Day. The banners carried by lesbian and transgender activists read as follows:
“Discrimination based on sexual orientation is a human rights violation!”
“We, lesbians, exist!”
“You cannot tell us, transvestites, how to live!”
“Being a transgender is not being obscene!”
“Mom. I am a lesbian.”
“No to forced prostitution!”
“The streets are ours!”
Here is an excerpt from flyers that lesbians and transgenders distributed on the streets of Istanbul during the rally:
quote:
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We, the lesbians, bisexuals, transvestites and transsexuals, were always with you at the past International Women’s Day Rallies, however we were not visible. This year we are walking under Lambda Istanbul banner and we are waiting for other lesbian, bisexual, transvestite and transsexual friends to join us.
We, the lesbian and bisexual women, are doomed and discriminated because the people we love are women as well. Men see the women as their property and they see us a threat to their domination.
We, the transvestite and transsexual women, have faced discrimination in our daily lives because we refuse to be male. We do not receive any help in any aspect of our life therefore we have no option but to become sex workers. We always face obstacles when looking for a house or to bury a friend of ours. Many people do not accept that we are women, and we are here to make our voice heard.
We want discrimination based on sexual orientation to be a crime in the new Turkish Penal Law!
Hate crime murders are politic murders!
Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders are neither alone nor wrong!
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Since 2001, Lambda Istanbul and Kaos GL in Ankara participated in different demonstrations including May 1st Labor Day Celebrations and anti-war demonstrations. Demonstrators from these two LGBT groups also marched with women’s rights groups on September 15, 2004 in front of the Turkish Parliament to protest the proposed legislation, which gives no reference to discrimination based on sexual orientation.
And this year, for the first time lesbians and transgenders from Lambda Istanbul joined the rally for International Women’s Day. The banners carried by lesbian and transgender activists read as follows:
“Discrimination based on sexual orientation is a human rights violation!”
“We, lesbians, exist!”
“You cannot tell us, transvestites, how to live!”
“Being a transgender is not being obscene!”
“Mom. I am a lesbian.”
“No to forced prostitution!”
“The streets are ours!”
Here is an excerpt from flyers that lesbians and transgenders distributed on the streets of Istanbul during the rally:
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We, the lesbians, bisexuals, transvestites and transsexuals, were always with you at the past International Women’s Day Rallies, however we were not visible. This year we are walking under Lambda Istanbul banner and we are waiting for other lesbian, bisexual, transvestite and transsexual friends to join us.
We, the lesbian and bisexual women, are doomed and discriminated because the people we love are women as well. Men see the women as their property and they see us a threat to their domination.
We, the transvestite and transsexual women, have faced discrimination in our daily lives because we refuse to be male. We do not receive any help in any aspect of our life therefore we have no option but to become sex workers. We always face obstacles when looking for a house or to bury a friend of ours. Many people do not accept that we are women, and we are here to make our voice heard.
We want discrimination based on sexual orientation to be a crime in the new Turkish Penal Law!
Hate crime murders are politic murders!
Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders are neither alone nor wrong!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
