A unique play in an Ankara theater ended with a standing ovation this week as the little-known actors - transsexuals and homosexuals raising their voices against discrimination - fought back tears on stage.
Their play, Pink And Grey, shines a spotlight on the plight of transsexuals in mainly Muslim Turkey, in the latest initiative of a fledgling, but increasingly vocal movement for rights by a community long ostracized and often harassed.
Beaming with pride and excitement, the amateur stars, male-to-female transsexuals Derya Tunc and Sera Can, received congratulations in the boisterous backstage, taking a welcome respite from their jobs as sex workers.
PHOTO: AFP
"Despite all the discrimination we face, I have no regrets for what I am," Can said. "My only regret is having ended up in the prostitution sector."
Almost all transsexuals and transvestites in Turkey make their living as prostitutes. They say they have no other option in a society where homophobia is strong and often accompanied by violence.
Three-quarters of Turks say they are "disturbed" by homosexuals, a recent opinion survey showed, although many homosexuals today are recognized as being among the country's most prominent singers and fashion designers.
Notoriously harsh against transsexual prostitutes, police have been accused of arbitrary round-ups, mistreatment, torture and rough "clean-up" operations in several Istanbul neighborhoods popular with transsexuals.
Activists say police abuse declined in recent years as the homosexual and transgender movement became organized and Turkey's bid to join the European Union made human rights a priority.
"Before, the police used violence - now they only fine us," said Buse Kilickaya, the head of Pembe Hayat, or Pink Life, a newly founded association that advocates transgender rights and sponsored Pink and Grey.
She pointed to the ongoing trial of four people over an assault on transvestite and transsexual prostitutes in Ankara's Eryaman suburb in 2006, which left several seriously injured.
The victims were attacked by young men wielding sticks and knives who were allegedly encouraged by local authorities and property developers; the victims' flats were ransacked and they were eventually forced to flee the neighborhood.
Attorney Senem Doganoglu, a supporter of Pink Life, said transvestites and transsexuals continue to be arbitrarily detained and could end up in a police station simply for showing up in the street.
"I had a case in which one was detained when she went out in the evening to buy bread," Doganoglu said.
Prostitution is not a crime in Turkey, so the police use a law that provides for fines for disturbing public order to pursue transsexual sex workers, she said.
She said the advocacy of conservative values by the governing Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) "is fostering the existing climate of intolerance."
Islam's impact on sexual freedoms, however, has proven to be a tricky issue in secular Turkey, where same-sex relationships and sex change operations are allowed, unlike in many other Muslim countries, and homosexual traditions can be traced back to the palaces of Ottoman sultans.
One of Turkey's best-known homosexual people, prominent fashion designer Cemil Ipekci, made headlines this month as he praised the AKP, described himself as a "conservative homosexual" and said he would have worn the Islamic headscarf had he been a woman.
And a transgender association in Ankara has called for a special mosque where its members can pray without disturbing the conventional Muslim flock.
"They cannot deny us the right to pray for salvation, can they?" asked group leader Oksan Oztok.
Activists hope discrimination will decrease as they become better organized and more vocal.
"We know things cannot change overnight. But there is progress already and we will continue to fight," Kilickaya said as she and her fellows excitedly discussed the date of the next Pink and Grey performance.
May 18 to May 24 Pastor Yang Hsu’s (楊煦) congregation was shocked upon seeing the land he chose to build his orphanage. It was surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the only way to access it was to cross a river by foot. The soil was poor due to runoff, and large rocks strewn across the plot prevented much from growing. In addition, there was no running water or electricity. But it was all Yang could afford. He and his Indigenous Atayal wife Lin Feng-ying (林鳳英) had already been caring for 24 orphans in their home, and they were in
Even by the standards of Ukraine’s International Legion, which comprises volunteers from over 55 countries, Han has an unusual backstory. Born in Taichung, he grew up in Costa Rica — then one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — where a relative worked for the embassy. After attending an American international high school in San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital, Han — who prefers to use only his given name for OPSEC (operations security) reasons — moved to the US in his teens. He attended Penn State University before returning to Taiwan to work in the semiconductor industry in Kaohsiung, where he
On May 2, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), at a meeting in support of Taipei city councilors at party headquarters, compared President William Lai (賴清德) to Hitler. Chu claimed that unlike any other democracy worldwide in history, no other leader was rooting out opposing parties like Lai and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). That his statements are wildly inaccurate was not the point. It was a rallying cry, not a history lesson. This was intentional to provoke the international diplomatic community into a response, which was promptly provided. Both the German and Israeli offices issued statements on Facebook
Australia’s ABC last week published a piece on the recall campaign. The article emphasized the divisions in Taiwanese society and blamed the recall for worsening them. It quotes a supporter of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) as saying “I’m 43 years old, born and raised here, and I’ve never seen the country this divided in my entire life.” Apparently, as an adult, she slept through the post-election violence in 2000 and 2004 by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the veiled coup threats by the military when Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) became president, the 2006 Red Shirt protests against him ginned up by
RSS