If what you are is not heterosexual, you can have lots of difficulties living in Turkey.  For lesbians, gays and bisexuals, making sexual preference obvious may cause all kinds of problems. Gender reassignment operations are not illegal, but like tansvestites, transgenders will be seen as “freaks.”  As in any conservative society, including the conservative parts of the U.S., LGBT community in Turkey has ample difficulties and is subject to social pressures.  This is not surprising.  Homophobia, intolerance and ignorance is everywhere.

What is surprising is that the state institutions and the government are as homophobic, as intolerant and as ignorant.  Legally, if you are LGB, you don’t really exist: there is the men with blue national id cards and the women with the pink (as if national id cards had to conform with the baby-store color codes), gays, lesbians, bisexuals can legally exist only as the physical sex prototype they most look like.  Same-sex marriage (and all kinds of rights that are associated with it) is of course not permitted, but different state organs can openly insult and discriminate against you with no problem.  That people convicted of hate murder of gays get reduced sentence is a case in point. The minister (responsible for women and family) saying homosexuality is a disease and can be cured is another.

There is a popular TV program in Turkey, which is essentially an on screen matchmaking effort, trying to get people married.  One day a woman calls in, talks about her previous marriage while in the Netherlands and reveals that she is interested in one of the female candidates.  At that point, the show-host Esra Erol gets upset, says that such deviances have no place in her show and hangs up.  Afterwards, she tries to save face saying nobody has the right to judge others’ sexual preferences but then claims that these preferences are formed as a result of people’s experiences and processes they go through their lives.  She says she doesn’t care what people do in their homes (but apparently doesn’t want to have these preferences revealed in public).  Notice two common homophobic arguments here: 1. “Homosexuality is something that happens” (this one sees it as a reaction to trauma or lifestyle, others see it as a disease) 2. “We don’t care what they do within the 4 walls of their homes” (seeing homosexuality only as a “bedroom affair” and revealing that they DO care because they think what happens within the 4 walls of “their” homes is so shameful that it should never be made public.)  I saw another video where she tried to explain her behavior on a TV program she joined as a guest.  She and the host together play the “our children card,” i.e. “We don’t want our children to be exposed to homosexuality, it’ll ruin their psychology” (sound familiar? Californians?).  She defends herself saying she is bound by law, if she let the conversation continue the Radio TV Higher council (RTUK) could punish the program or the channel.  This is not wrong, but she’s definitely throwing the blame on the laws, without any criticism of the restrictive laws or without feeling sorry for what happened.  RTUK didn’t tell her to have that disgusted expression on her face when the caller revealed her preference after all.

LGBT organizations and their friends protested while the mainstream media made news of this program with headlines that read: “Scandal!: Woman proposes to woman on TV.”  A minority protested the host while the majority found what happened (the caller’s request not the host’s reaction) outrageous.  Did I mention homophobia runs strong in Turkey?

More recently, the Minister responsible for women and family, Selma Aliye Kavaf, said these in an interview: “I believe that homosexuality is a biological disoder, a disease.  It is something that should be treated.  Thus, I don’t think positively about same sex marriages.  Our ministry doesn’t have any studies about them.  There’s no demand communicated to us anyway.  We’re not saying there are no homosexuals in Turkey, this case exists.”  I don’t see it necessary to explain this, it is pretty clear what she thinks, what her mindset is.  The ignorance, the denial, the rejection of the TV show host is all here as well.  But this is the person who is responsible for women and children, if the LGBT were legally recognized they would be her responsibility too (after all, LGBT are the groups that lack the upper hand in the patriarchal system just like women and children).  The minister who is expected to represent the LGBT pretty much thinks they are sick people who need treatment.  Ouch!  As usual, they are on their own. They shouldn’t feel very bad though, because the record of this woman minister in pursuing the rights of women and children is not great either.  In the same interview she objects the NGOs (probably women’s organizations) that consider the husband asking the wife “What’s for dinner?” as psychological violence.  She does not understand that it is not the question, it is the whole set-up, the whole system of the family where the woman is “obliged and expected” to carry out domestic duties that is the psychological violence.  And we are expecting this minister, who does not have an issue with the domestication of women, to represent women as their minister.  Good luck with that!  LGBT and women’s organizations protested her statements as expected, but their protests didn’t change anything.

Things got even more tragicomic after the interview.  Another minister from the AKP (the governing Islamist party) tried to do some damage control after the outrageous remarks of his co-minister.  Recep Akdag, minister of Health, said these: “Same sex marriage isn’t something Turkish society can accept.  These should be left to individual freedoms.  We should do whatever is necessary for children’s sexual education to develop right.  It is a fact that homosexuality is difficult for those who live it in Turkey.  It can be a cause for discrimination.  Society should be tolerant and fair.  It is clear that there are matters that distinguish homosexual relationships from normal relationships.”

Mainstream media just bought into this attempt, even portrayed as if he contradicted Kavaf’s words and the two minister’s opinions clashed, they were opposing each other, there was a polemic.  I read what the health minister said and thought “How is this damage control?  Adding injury to the insult is more like it!”  There is the unmistakeable “our children card,” lest they learn about homosexuality somehow, they will be damaged forever!  He doesn’t say homosexuality is a disease, quite the opposite it seems like he is trying to oppose the minister who said it is.  But it is so obvious that he thinks it is a disease, it represents “something gone wrong”, it is a-normal. According to Akdag,  sexual development gone right ends up in heterosexuality, if it goes wrong it ends up homosexuality.  How is this any different than what Kavaf has said?

Or should we cut him some slack since he understands the difficulties of being gay in Turkey?  Well, if he is so understanding, he should do something about it.  He is a minister!  He’s in government!  If this discrimination is wrong and he is bothered by it, why doesn’t he do something about it?  Remember how the TV show host blamed the laws for her behavior?  The minister is blaming the society and its culture.  For him, the only way for homosexuality to be OK is if the “society” becomes tolerant and fair.  This is your “tyranny of the majority 101.”  It is up to the state to take precautions so that the minority is protected.  The minister cannot just sit back, watch gays be discriminated, and say “oh, what a pity!”  If he does, it means he is actively participating in the discrimination.  If you are a minister, your inaction is actually an action.

Later, he was asked about the “controversy” again and he said: “It is wrong to evaluate this as a polemic of two ministers.  I was asked a question, I spoke my opinion.  Rather than turning this into a  tabloid discussion, we should remind ourselves of our kids and youth, that we should take this seriously in terms of their sexual education.”  He goes on and on about the “threats” from the internet the youngsters are exposed to (guess what he means!).  Upon another question asking whether he thinks it is a disease, he said it is a complicated issue, psychiatrists and scientists should be asked about it.  The “our children” card, the “apparently something wrong happened to them” approach, the “why can’t they keep it to themselves?” complaint.  The same thing, over and over again.

And the last development on the issue, which triggered me to write today.  A platform of different NGOs, including MAZLUMDER (Association for Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples), had a press release in support of Minister Kavaf (full text in Turkish here).  I really cannot bring myself to translate the whole document here, it is just too painful even to read it (I’ll post a link immediately if I see an English translation somewhere).  It starts with the “medical controversy” about homosexuality, stating even in societies where homosexuality is accepted as “not a disease” there is an anxious search against the spread of homosexuality!?!  They go into religion, as expected (these are all Islamist NGOs).  The letter goes: Homosexuality is deviant according to all Abrahamic religions, it is a sin and it has been punished.  While Islam is the religion of peace and tolerance, there are limits to both (hmm…) and it is the duty of a Muslim to prevent the immoralities and the sins gain legitimacy.  It’s an abnormality, it is a disease, it threatens the future of humanity, the family, and security of new generations, it has to be stopped, brought to an end, yada yada yada.  Then comes the “our children” argument at the very end.  But there’s something new in this letter, different from the three cases above: The conspiracy of the gay lobby!  Apparently, they believe that there is a strong lobby that tries to make the “societal subconscious” accept that homosexuality is a natural choice (They got even this wrong! If there were such a lobby, they’d say that it is NOT a choice.).  They claim that this lobby uses unthinkable methods, uses TV series and competition shows, video clips, news reports, discussion programs (pretty much everything on TV then).

Isn’t it funny that an “Association for Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples” could be behind this? Gays are not considered as “oppressed peoples” to be in solidarity with and the right to live your sexual life as you please is not a “human” right?  They say it loud and clear, as explicitly as it can be, in the letter: peace and tolerance as long as it is in conformity with what they believe, neither is unlimited.  This letter, right here, IS the biggest failure of Islamist politics in Turkey.  Islamist parties and groups want more democracy, struggle for more freedoms.  But unfortunately, over and over again, they show that the democracy and the freedoms they want are only for themselves, where “they” are predominantly patriarchal minded Sunni Muslim Turks.  They want full freedom of religious expression, but when it comes to the freedom of LGBT to express their sexual identities, they are not even silent, they are explicitly and strongly against it.  I’m afraid the readers will see many other examples of this selective democracy, rights and freedoms approach of the Islamist AKP, or other Islamist groups in my future posts.  The Islamists in Turkey will continue to fail the democracy test unless they realize that democracy means they have to ACCEPT and RESPECT the rights and freedoms of people who are not like them and who do not conform to Islamic teachings.  That something is sinful in a religion is not enough reason to make it illegal or wrong.

I have been disappointed with believers when Proposition 8 passed in California, I’m disappointed with believers when they release this letter which is almost hate speech.  All this talk of clash of civilizations and the culture wars between Islam and Christianity, and they agree on this one thing: their hate for the LGBT. What a sad irony!