Politics
Turkey's Pride Week is 'more about resistance than celebration'
For Iris Mozalar, a young transgender woman living in Istanbul, Pride Week is “more about resistance than celebration” under Turkey's conservative government, which is openly hostile to the LGBTQ community.
“Our fight is for survival,” the 24-year-old told AFP at her home in Istanbul, where she studies urban planning and works as a DJ and model, on the eve of the annual Pride celebrations, which the Turkish government routinely bans.
During his re-election campaign last year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his allies made the LGBTQ community their favorite target, calling them “perverse” and a threat to traditional family values, with activists saying this had sparked a surge in hostility toward them.
“We are waging a fight against the police, against the state security apparatus,” explains Mozalar, a slender figure with long tawny hair, a serious demeanor and an engaging smile.
“That's why I can never look at (Pride) as a celebration, because frankly, we don't have much to celebrate. »
Growing up in the southeastern coastal city of Mersin, she faced bullying from peers and teachers who instinctively knew there was something different about her.
She couldn't really explain it until one day, at age 17, she looked in the mirror and really saw herself for the first time.
“I will never be able to forget the moment when I stood naked in front of the mirror and admitted to myself: “Yes, I am a woman”.
Soon after, Mozalar moved to Istanbul and began the transition process — an “incredibly difficult” process in Turkey, involving months of sessions with psychiatrists and endocrinologists as well as detailed examinations and reports from experts in genetics, gynecology, urology and plastic surgery.
Only a court can approve gender reassignment surgery, and after finally winning her case, she began a year-long campaign to raise 90,000 Turkish liras for the operation, or at the time about 30 times her rent. .
The same operation would cost up to 700,000 lire today, she explained, an “impossible” sum for most transgender people, who often earn the minimum wage.
Despite the surgery, Mozalar still feels uncomfortable with parts of herself – “my feet, the length of my hands” – but has learned to see the beauty in her own body.
“It was a kind of inner revolution to say: yes, I am beautiful.”
– 'An incredible challenge' –
Although she has finally found peace with her identity, society remains largely hostile.
“It’s an incredible challenge to exist as a trans woman in Turkey,” she said.
“Istanbul is not an LGBTI+-friendly city – there is no such city in Turkey,” Mozalar said. While there are a few friendly neighborhoods, she rarely feels safe on the streets.
“Some days I don't go shopping because I know I'll be harassed as soon as I leave my house. And I don't feel good enough. Most transgender people are disconnected from normal social life,” she told AFP, adding that she only travels by taxi after dark.
But at night is also when she really comes to life, as a DJ.
“I love DJing, but it can be difficult dealing with men, so the places I perform have to be LGBTQ and women friendly.” And it's the same when she goes out in the evening, going only to places deemed friendly or “run by feminists” or socialists.
Despite the difficulties, she does not want to leave Turkey to seek asylum elsewhere.
“I was born and raised in Turkey and I believe I have a job to do here,” she says.
“I hope we will see the day when pride in Turkey is no longer a rebellion but a celebration.”
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