Houses of transgender individuals on Bayram street in İstanbul's Beyoğlu sealed

Houses in the apartment building where transgender individuals live on Bayram Street in İstanbul's Beyoğlu district were sealed yesterday (February 29).

Lawyers from the Human Rights Association (İHD) LGBTI+ Commission filed an appeal for the annulment of the decision and initiated a case for the suspension of execution at the Istanbul Administrative Court.

Activists and lawyers believe that the sealing of the houses where transgender individuals live is linked to the hate speech and discriminatory policies used by the ruling party and conservative circles before the elections.

"This place has been our ghetto since 1947"

Buse, who lives on the street and says that dozens of transgender individuals are affected because their homes have been sealed, provided the following information to bianet:

"I was here on Bayram Street in the past and I am there today. I was here in 2008, during the time when our doors were broken down with sledgehammers, and I am here today when they seal our doors. This street has been our ghetto since 1947. They have been trying to disturb us for a long time to eradicate our presence here."

Reason: "Leaning out of the windows"

"For example, about six months ago, an official closure order came. The reason given for the closure was leaning out of the windows and obscene displays. We said if that's the problem, we will fix it. There haven't been any situations like leaning out of the windows, and no action has been taken in the past six months. But today they came to the neighborhood and sealed our building. We got permission until Monday. We are in a great risk. We don't know what to do. Dozens of people live in this four-story building. We live with our dogs and cats. We will all be affected."

“The goal is to destroy our solidarity culture”

Continuing her statement, Buse emphasizes, "In many parts of Turkey, women are forced to engage in sex work. Without changing the conditions of these people, you cannot bring about change on the streets by pressuring them like this."

She mentions that they receive threats of closure and sealing every three months, and she reacts to this pressure: "This has become routine. Every three months, every six months, a closure order is issued on Bayram Street, and the reasons they give don't go beyond trivial excuses. The reason for our existence there is the solidarity culture among transgender women, our street, and our ghetto. Their goal is also to destroy our solidarity culture."

Buse asserts, "There is an attack on our existence. Hanging objects from the window is not a crime. Or what they consider obscene, according to whom, according to what? Those telling us to vacate these houses do not provide us with another place to stay. If we leave here, does the state provide us with that opportunity? Do we have a place to go?"

Lastly, Buse highlights the following points:

"We have been given an identity, we pay our taxes, but sometimes they restrict our right to housing, sometimes our right to travel. I pay my taxes and I want to be an equal citizen. We want to benefit from the same rights that all citizens enjoy. So what are we going to do? What are we going to do right now, what kind of work are we going to do? Where are we going to stay, how are we going to live? How are we going to continue our lives?"

"One of the memory spaces"

The İstanbul Trans Pride Week Committee is also monitoring the attacks on transgender sex workers on Bayram Street and seeking solutions. Çağıl from the committee expresses their reaction as follows:

"Despite the discussions on the necessity of guaranteeing and legalizing sex work being long exhausted on a global level, we wake up to closure decisions here."

"Bayram Street is one of the main memory spaces of the trans+ movement in İstanbul. Despite control mechanisms that try to invisibilize trans+ existences by all means, trans+ individuals have not left and will not leave here. Despite all these attempts to ignore us, trans+ individuals will not abandon cities; cities belong to us. As the 10th Trans Pride Week Committee, we are closely following the issue."

"Homophobia and transphobia specifically promoted during election periods"     

"I have been a witness to the state violence experienced by Bayram Street since the 1990s," told Eren Keskin, the Co-Chair of the Human Rights Association (İHD) and a member of the İHD LGBTI+ Commission bianet regarding the yesterday's incident and added, "When it comes to homophobia and transphobia, the state mentality remains unchanged. However, the Republic of Turkey is a party to the European Convention on Human Rights, and Article 14 of the Convention explicitly prohibits discrimination."

Keskin argues that this cannot be viewed merely as the sealing of a house; rather, it violates people's right to housing, right to privacy, and all kinds of rights. She states that the reasons presented do not reflect the truth and that during the election period, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) - the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) alliance specifically promotes and implements homophobia and transphobia, engaging in a politics of hatred.

"Turkey could be condemned to compensate"

Lawyer Eren Kutluk also reminds that Turkey, due to its international agreements and its own laws, has obligations to prevent and protect against discrimination. He states:

"Turkey will be held responsible in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) for any incidents of violence and discrimination against women that may arise following the sealing and closure decision on Bayram Street. Turkey will be condemned to compensate for them at the ECtHR. As we know from the Esat-Eryaman cases, the administration unlawfully targets transgender women during election periods for political reasons, violating their human rights and freedoms. It is imperative that this erroneous and unlawful administrative action be reversed immediately." (EMK/PE)