'My identity and labor cannot be robbed': Rights advocates stand by trans teacher Zoe Lila

The Human Rights Association (İHD) İstanbul Branch LGBTI+ Commission held a press conference in yesterday regarding trans woman teacher Zoe Lila, who was dismissed from her job at an İstanbul private school following a hate campaign.

Lila, who spoke about the rights violations she faced, was joined by Eren Keskin, former co-chair of İHD and a founding member of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV), and Lila's lawyer, Furkan Yurt.

Following the press conference, the Private Sector Teachers' Union, the Education and Science Laborers' Union (Eğitim Sen), and LGBTI+ organizations emphasized their solidarity with Lila, pledging to continue following the case.

The Human Rights Association (İHD) İstanbul Branch LGBTI+ Commission held a press conference in Taksim today regarding trans woman teacher Zoe Lila being left unemployed.

Lila, who spoke about the rights violations she faced, was joined by Eren Keskin, former co-chair of İHD and a founding member of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV), as well as Lila's lawyer, Furkan Yurt.

Following the press statement, the Private Sector Teachers' Union, the Education and Science Laborers' Union (Eğitim Sen), and LGBTI+ organizations also emphasized their solidarity with Lila and stated they would continue to follow the process.

In her speech, Lila thanked Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party İstanbul MPs Özgül Saki and Kezban Konukçu for bringing the issue to the parliament, as well as the Private Sector Teachers' Union, Eğitim Sen, human rights defenders, LGBTI+ organizations, and members of the press for showing solidarity with her.

'What happened is no different from racism'

Speaking before Lila, Eren Keskin described what happened to Lila as "ihnumane":

"As the Human Rights Association LGBTI+ Commission, we are holding this press conference to support Zoe. However, this will not be limited to a statement. As long as she continues her struggle against the injustice she has experienced, we will stand by her side.

"Zoe is a trans woman teacher. While successfully performing her duty, she was forced to leave her position at Açı Schools as a result of pressure exerted on the school administration by the National Education Ministry, which is dominated by male-dominated, militaristic, and feudal values.

"What happened is no different from racism. The Republic of Turkey is a party to international conventions pledging not to discriminate between people on the basis of language, religion, gender, belief, and identity. By constitutional requirement, it has accepted these conventions as superior to domestic law.

"However, in an environment where the rule of law is not operational, written law is practically not implemented. We find this practice inhumane. We oppose the dominant and oppressive gender regime, as well as the discrimination and pressure this regime imposes on every aspect of life. We stand by Zoe to the very end."

'The right of trans women to work cannot be prevented'

Speaking after Keskin, Lila pointed out that she exercised her legal rights as a transgender person:

I am Zoe Lila. I graduated from Marmara University Atatürk Education Faculty, Department of English Language Teaching. Following my graduation, I pursued the teaching profession with dedication, in line with legal and ethical principles. For the past five years, I worked as an English teacher at Sarıyer Private Açı Secondary School. However, my right to work and professional existence, which are under constitutional protection, have been turned into a systematic barrier, targeting, and rights usurpation mechanism through the non-renewal of my employment contract following a process of targeting, exposure, and pressure that began after my trans identity.

This hate-based injustice I suffered and the discriminatory administrative process initiated against me have been brought to the agenda of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey through two separate parliamentary inquiries. As explicitly asked in the third question of the parliamentary inquiry submitted to the National Education Ministry by İstanbul MP Özgül Saki: 'Is being trans or having gone through a gender transition process considered an obstacle to practicing the teaching profession by the ministry?' The entire process I was subjected to has been recorded at the highest level through the parliamentary inquiry submitted directly with my name, 'Zoe Lila,' by İstanbul MP Kezban Konukçu.

We ask: On what legal grounds do inspectors ask discriminatory questions like 'Why did you change your name?' to an education laborer whose name was officially changed by a legal court decision, and initiate investigations based on complaints submitted to CİMER [Presidency Communications Center]?

Updating my diploma and official records after my identity change, which I carried out by exercising my legal rights, is my most natural and legal right. The duty of state institutions is not to make legal processes difficult for trans citizens or to push them out of working life, but to guarantee their rights under the principle of equality. The situation I faced has been the turning of the exercise of a legal right into a transfobic 'ban on work' and professional punishment at the hands of official institutions and government media.

As a teacher and human rights defender, I cry out:

My identity and labor as a woman and a teacher cannot be usurped by discriminatory and transfobic barriers.

This discriminatory practice, which has also been brought to the parliament's agenda, must be stopped immediately. This usurpation of rights, hidden behind bureaucratic update processes or targeting rhetoric in the press, must end immediately.

Official institutions should prioritize restoring my usurped rights by applying the principle of constitutional equality, rather than discriminating based on gender identity.

I will not surrender my labor, my profession, and my identity to any bureaucratic barrier or discriminatory mindset. I am determined to continue my struggle on legal and legitimate grounds until I get my rights back. The right of trans women to work cannot be prevented. We will resist for our labor, our identity, and our dignity.

(TY/VK)