04/03/2024 | Writer: Kaos GL
Trans women, facing the threat of eviction as authorities sought to seal their homes on Bayram Street, came together to form the Bayram Street 12 Platform. They held a press conference at the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association to address the situation.
Photograph: Pink Life Association
Trans women residing in apartment number 12 on Bayram Street in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district have established the Bayram Street 12 Platform in response to ongoing oppression. They released the following statements to announce the formation of the platform:
“Our homes, where we have resided for decades, are repeatedly and unlawfully sealed, depriving us of our right to shelter. On 28th February, we received notice that our homes will be sealed for three months beginning 4th March. Similar to other areas such as Esat-Eryaman, Ülker Street, Avcılar Meis Site, and İzmir Bornova Street, Bayram Street faces threats from capitalists, landlords, and transphobic/women-hostile policies. We declare to all that we will not tolerate discrimination and the usurpation of our rights! Our homes are sealed and we are forced onto the streets at least twice a year. These unjust practices deny us our right to shelter and significantly disrupt our lives. Bayram Street is not just a living space but also a space of memory for trans women. We assert our right to both our living spaces and our memories. We call upon all who believe in equality, justice, and the rule of law to stand in solidarity against this injustice. We believe that by raising our voices, we can put an end to these unlawful practices!”
After the establishment announcement, the Bayram Street 12 Platform declared that a press conference would be convened at the Human Rights Association (IHD). They urged all human rights organizations, LGBTI+ groups, feminist collectives, women's rights organizations, and members of the press to stand in solidarity with them.
“Our street has faced the threat of being sealed twice a year”
Today at 12.00 am, the Bayram Street 12 Platform, hosted a press conference at the IHD Istanbul Branch to protest the sealing of their residences on the street. According to the report of Bianet the full text of their press statement is as follows:
“Today, as transgender women who are residents of Apartment No. 12 on Bayram Street, we are here together with our friends who stand in solidarity with us. Today, we are here to defend our lives and rights against those who besiege and ignore us.
Bayram Street has been a shelter and a place of memory where transgender women have lived together for decades. It is our history. Bayram Street is one of our breathing spaces, an example of the culture of living together that we have fostered for years in İstanbul.
For years, our street has faced the threat of being sealed twice a year. Transgender women living on Bayram Street have been left homeless with the sealing implemented today. The streets have been our homes, the tables where we have fed ourselves, the fortresses where we have grown solidarity and found refuge, all built through our labor as transgender individuals. We want to remind everyone that our struggle is not limited to today alone and that each time we are forced to fight, we emerge stronger. We declare from here that you cannot steal the solidarity networks we have built, the streets we have gained, or the territories we have reclaimed.
We are exposing to the public the violence perpetrated by men, the state, and the police that make life difficult for transgender women living on Bayram Street.
Just like in many other places such as Esat-Eryaman, Ülker Street, Avcılar Meis Complex, and İzmir Bornova Street, Bayram Street is also under threat from capitalists, profiteers, and transphobic/women-hostile policies. We want to make it clear to everyone that we will not remain silent in the face of discrimination and rights violations we experience!
Our homes are being sealed, and the streets we live on are being besieged by the police. However, every place where we cannot find shelter opens another door for us to struggle.
While transgender individuals who are made to believe they have no right to live and who are ostracized in this geography, inevitably, transgender suicides are political. The deaths of Hande, Mısra, Nefes, Murat, Günay, Zirve, Berrak, İpek, Deniz, Ecem, Dilan, and many others are massacres. Those who spread transphobia in society, especially the state, with their rhetoric, are the perpetrators of these massacres.
We saw with the Esat-Eryaman case in Ankara that justice, when it comes to transgender women, is delayed for years. We want everyone to know that we will not give up our right to shelter, not only as homeless women but also as women resisting male, state, and police violence.
We rebel against the system that leaves us homeless on the streets, abandons us to death. Even if our homes are sealed, even if we are abandoned to death on the streets, we are here, we will not give up, we will continue our struggle for existence. We remind you that freedom begins on the streets! Despite being pushed away from all living spaces and deprived, we shout with every breath: Enough is enough! The state must meet our demand for safe and equal living conditions! You must ensure our lives and rights.
Our platform demands an end to unlawful sealing practices, the guarantee of housing rights for transgender women, collective resistance against transphobic and women-hostile policies, and accountability for the perpetrators of the violations we experience.
We do not give up on our lives, our rights, our streets, or our homes! Even if you break down our doors with sledgehammers as you used to, we will continue to live! We resisted against ‘Hortum Süleyman’ [former chief of police], and we will resist against his grandchildren too! Bayram Street is our pride!”
Tags: human rights
