Everythg you need to know about beg gay Mlim untri | LGBTQ+ rights | The Guardian

Contents:

• ISTANBUL: A GAY-FRIENDLY DTATN TURKEY
• EVERYTHG YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BEG GAY MLIM UNTRI
• IN TURKEY, ’S NOT A CRIME TO BE GAY. BUT LGBT ACTIVISTS SEE A RISG THREAT.
• IS ISTANBUL GAY FRIENDLY? 2023 TRAVEL GUI & TIPS

ISTANBUL: A GAY-FRIENDLY DTATN TURKEY

However, ’s important to remember that Istanbul is pal of an Islamic untry; for all s liberal aspects, Turkey is chg s way closer to Middle Eastern valu daily, and this is havg a knock-on effect on LGBT rights Istanbul that gay travelers to the area should take to nsiratn. Currently, there are no anti-discrimatn laws Turkey that protect LGBT people om discrimatn the public sphere or employment, although opposn parti have tried to troduce bills providg legal protectn for gay and transgenr people. The social suatn for members of the gay muny is better smopolan Istanbul than ral areas but whether or not people feel fortable g out to their fay and iends is extremely ntext-pennt and still pos a number of risks.

Istanbul has a fairly thrivg gay scene, wh pulsg dance floors, gay bars, and hamams; but many lols who participate are livg a double life, beg unable to be open wh their fai or at work for fear of the negative impact uld have on their future. The shift towards nservatism Turkey as a whole do not bo well, but Istanbul’s long-tablished liberal character uld hold firm agast a risg ti of anti-gay feelg and hopefully ph that ti back. Gettg to know people is one of the bt thgs about travelg and that’s particularly important a place like Istanbul, where the gay scene is not always ‘ your face.’ Headg to Taksim or Beyoğlu to start a night out a gay bar is a good way to get chattg to lols and then plan your night om there.

EVERYTHG YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BEG GAY MLIM UNTRI

The social suatn for members of the gay muny is better smopolan Istanbul than ral areas, where honor killgs still occur; but whether or not people feel fortable g out to their fay and iends pletely pends on their own ntext and would still mean a number of risks. Istanbul and some of the most tourist-iendly areas, such as Bodm, have a fairly thrivg gay scene, wh pulsg dance floors, gay bars, and hamams; but many lols who are volved the gays scene by night are livg a different life by day, as they are not able to be open wh their fay or iends, and certaly not at work, where they uld worry about the impact would have on their future. Even Ankara and Izmir, Turkey’s pal and most Wtern-leang cy rpectively, don’t have anythg that close to beg scribed as a ‘gay scene’, so while they’re tertg plac to vis, gay travelers shouldn’t expect a party.

On 13 September 2018, was reported that the Turkish Rad and Televisn Supreme Council (RTUK) fed cy of Bursa Broadster AS TV 17, 000 Turkish liras for showg mic vio ”Secrets” by Pk – that featured ”erotic dance figur of a homosexual nature” – durg hours when children and young people uld watch and be negatively fluenced [R1.

On 24 November 2017, the Beyoglu district ernor’s office reportedly banned a one-day ftival that had been set to showse short films on gay issu on Saturday, claimg the event would not be allowed to take place, a bid to ”protect public orr and safety, others’ rights and eedoms, and to prevent crime” [R2. On 19 November 2017, was reported that the Ankara ernor’s office had banned all events by lbian, gay, bisexual, trans and tersex rights groups s pal cy to protect ”public secury” for an ”fe” perd wh effect om 18 November [R2. On 17 June 2016, was reported that the ernor of the Turkish cy of Istanbul had banned gay, lbian and transgenr dividuals om holdg pri paras at their ual venue, cg secury ncerns, disallowg march partg om Istanbul’s inic Taksim Square ”for the safety of our cizens and the participants” [R2.

IN TURKEY, ’S NOT A CRIME TO BE GAY. BUT LGBT ACTIVISTS SEE A RISG THREAT.

On 14 September 2012, was reported that the Jtice and Development Party (AKP) had vetoed a proposal jotly troduced by the ma opposn Republin People’s Party (CHP) and the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) that would have brought nstutnal protectn for gay rights [R1. On 10 Febary 2014, Met Çiçek, the father and uncl Seyhm and Mehmut, were jailed for life for the 2012 ‘honour killg’ of 17-year-old gay teenager Ros Çiçek the south-east cy of Diyarbakir [R2.

On 26 November 2012, Defense Mister İsmet Yılmaz was expected to troduce a new penalty regulatn draft for the Turkish Armed Forc unr which beg gay will be nsired as a ser offence and reason for dismissal, makg the unwrten policy a regulatn [R1. On 26 March 2012, gay nscripts seekg to “prove” their homosexualy orr to avoid ary service, reportedly mt provi explic photographs wh their face visible and showg themselv as the passive partner [R1. In November 2010, the Turkish Armed Forc, or TSK, nied askg for “photographic” proof that people seekg an exemptn om pulsory ary service on the grounds of their homosexualy are actually gay [R1.

On 09 October 2012, the European Court of Human Rights led favour of a gay Turkish prisoner who was put solary nfement after plag about bullyg om mat sayg that the ndns which he was held nstuted ‘human or gradg treatment’ breach of Article 3 of the European Conventn of Human Rights and vlatn of Article 14 of the ECHR, which protects people om discrimatn on the grounds of sexual orientatn. Acrdg to the kgdom’s relig police, the school was fed 100, 000 riyals ($26, 650) for displayg “the emblem of the homosexuals” on s buildg, one of s admistrators was jailed and the offendg parapet was swiftly repated to match a blue rabow-ee se of the gaily pated school shows how progrs one part of the world n have adverse effects elsewhere and serv as a remr that there are plac where the nnectn between rabows and LGBT rights is eher new or yet to be Afghanistan, only a few years ago, there was a craze for ratg rs wh rabow stickers – which Che factori were only too happy to supply. It wasn’t until the Afghan Pajhwok news agency explaed how they might be misterpreted that the craze me to a sudn on the ter and you will also fd pi of the “Rabow Qur’an” for sale – an unnscly gay edn of the holy book wh tted pag of every hue and remend on one webse as “an ial gift for Mlims” there are two sis to this cross-cultural misunrstandg.

IS ISTANBUL GAY FRIENDLY? 2023 TRAVEL GUI & TIPS

Genr segregatn, which go to extreme lengths the more nservative Mlim untri, enurag homosocial behavur, creatg a suatn where men are often more fortable the prence of other men and where placg a hand on another man’s knee is a sign of iendship, not an vatn to sex. Historilly, Mlim societi have often acknowledged this – toleratg to some extent even if they the 19th and early 20th centuri, men who had been persecuted for their sexualy Europe often sought refuge Moroc and, long before same-sex marriage was dreamed of the wt, male-on-male partnerships were regnised – and marked wh a ceremony – the remote Egyptian oasis of some Mlim untri, whole towns have bee the butt of jok about the supposed homosexualy of their habants. In Egypt, for example, an old law agast “bchery” is often laws have a tastrophic effect on the liv of people who are unlucky enough to get ught but, spe ocsnal crackdowns, the thori don’t, on the whole, actively seek out gay people to arrt them.