Houses on Bayram Street in Istanbul’s Beyolu district were yesterday ( February 29 ) sealed in the apartment building where transgender residents reside.
Lawyers from the LGBTI+ Commission of the Human Rights Association ( HD ) filed an appeal for the annulment of the ruling and filed a lawsuit for the Istanbul Administrative Court to have the execution suspended.
According to activists and attorneys, the ruling party and conservative circles ‘ use of hate speech and discriminatory laws before the primaries is a factor in the closing of the homes where trans people live.
Since 1947, this location has been our camp.
Buse, a resident of the city, claims that lots of trans people are affected because their houses have been sealed, and that he has provided the following data to bianet:
” I used to live on Bayram Street and still do so now.” When our gates were slammed down with sledgehammers, I was here in 2008, and I am still here today as they mark our doors. Since 1947, this city has served as our ghetto. They have tried for a while to upset us in an effort to put an end to our existence here.
” Leaning out of the skylights,” is the explanation.
” For instance, a formal shutdown order was issued about six months ago. Leaning out of the panels and outrageous shows were the justification for the closing. If that’s the issue, we did mend it, we said. There have n’t been any instances where someone leans out of the window, and nothing has been done in the last six months. However, they arrived in the town now and stormed our building. We were given consent until Monday. There are a lot of chances here. We are unsure of what to do. This four-story structure has a population of lots. Our dogs and cats live with us. We will all be impacted.
” Our goal is to destroy our unity culture,” he says.
Buse adds,” In some parts of Turkey, women are forced to engage in sexual work,” continuing her speech. You ca n’t bring about change on the streets by pressing these people like this without changing the conditions of these people.
She mentions that they are threatened with closure and sealing every three months, and she says,” This has become habit. A closure order is issued on Bayram Street every three months or every six months, and the justifications they give do n’t go beyond trivial justifications. Our streets, our camp, and the unity culture among transgender women account for our presence there. Their intention is to sabotage our” unity society” as well.
Buse claims that “our life is being attacked.” It is not illegal to hang things from a glass. Or what do they think is vulgar, in their opinion, and in what context? We are not given a place to stay when those who advise us to leave these properties. Does the express give us that option if we leave this place? Do we have somewhere to go?
Buse concludes by highlighting the following factors:
We have an individuality, and we pay our taxes, but they occasionally limit our mobility and cover rights. I pay my taxes, and I want to live on the same level as everyone. We want to enjoy the same rights that all members do. What will we do as a result? What will we be doing at this time, and what kind of function will we be doing? Where are we going to live, and how will we survive? How will we remain living?”
” One of the storage spots,”
The Istanbul Trans Pride Week Committee is also looking for solutions to the assaults against transgender sexual staff on Bayram Street. The committee’s panelists respond in the following way:
” We wake up to closure choices below despite the conversations on the necessity of guaranteeing and legalizing sexual work being long overdue on a global stage.”
One of the main memory centers of the transgender + movement in Istanbul is Bayram Street. Trans+ people have not left and will not leave this world, despite control procedures that aim to make trans + existences invisible. Despite all these attempts to dismiss us, trans + people continue to live in places that are ours. We are carefully following the topic as the 10th Trans Pride Week Committee.
” Homophobia and stigmatization are primarily promoted during vote seasons.”
Regarding the yesterday’s incident, Eren Keskin, the co-chair of the Human Rights Association ( HD ) and a member of the LGBTI+ Commission bianet, said,” When it comes to homophobia and transphobia, the state mentality remains unchanged. I have been a witness to the state violence experienced by Bayram Street since the 1990s. However, Turkish Republic is a signatory of the European Human Rights Convention, and Article 14 of that treaty expressly forbids prejudice.
Keskin contends that this is more in violation of people’s rights to housing, privacy, and all kinds of rights than it can be only seen as the sealing of a house. She claims that the justifications given do not match the facts and that the Justice and Development Party ( AKP)-the Nationalist Movement Party ( MHP ) alliance actively promotes and implements homophobia and transphobia while engaging in a politics of hatred during the election campaign.
Turkey might be forced to make up for it.
Lawyer Eren Kutluk also brings up the fact that Turkey has obligations to stop and defend against discrimination as a result of its own laws and international agreements. He asserts:
” Turkey will be held accountable in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR ) for any incidents of violence and discrimination against women that may occur as a result of Bayram Street’s sealing and closure decision. At the ECtHR, Turkey may be required to make up for their losses. According to the Esat-Eryaman cases, the leadership unjustly targets trans people for social reasons, violating their individual rights and freedoms. This false and immoral administrative action must be instantly overturned. ( EMK/PE )
