Turkey: LGBT Individuals Struggle to Gain Acceptance

[Shana A]

Turkey: LGBT Individuals Struggle to Gain Acceptance
November 29, 2010 - 12:50pm, by Arzu Geybullayeva

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/62459

Yanki is a 23 year old who is tall and beautiful. Walking around Istanbul, people regularly gaze at her, many with quizzical, even critical looks. "I want to be accepted by society because I am just like everybody else," she says. But it is not so easy for a transgender woman in Turkey to gain acceptance.

Watchdog organizations, including Human Rights Watch, have documented routine abuses in Turkey that are endured by transgender individuals. LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) individuals enjoy few legal rights in Turkey, and the government does little to promote tolerance for sexual minorities.