20/06/2025 | Writer: Kaos GL
At the Family Workshop organized as part of Diyanet-Sen’s Family Year Action Plan, the presidents of both Diyanet-Sen and Memur-Sen targeted LGBTI+ people using terms such as “desexualization” and “perverse ideologies.”
Ali Yıldız, the President of Diyanet-Sen, the union of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, and Ali Yalçın, the President of Memur-Sen, a pro-government public servants’ union, targeted LGBTI+ people during the event titled “Global Policies, Media, Law, and the Future of the Family – Diyanet-Sen Family Workshop.” The event was held recently as part of Diyanet-Sen’s Year of the Family Action Plan.
The workshop was held in the conference hall of Memur-Sen, which is organizing an anti-LGBTI+ petition campaign and working to spread it across 81 provinces. Deputy President of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, Burhan İşliyen, also attended the workshop.
In his opening speech, Diyanet-Sen President Ali Yıldız claimed that the population is on the verge of stagnation.
He targeted the Istanbul Convention and LGBTI+ people using terms such as “desexualization”and “perversion”:
“We believe we must resist collectively against the all-out assault of the deviant globalists. The abolition of the Istanbul Convention was made possible by the firm stance and strong objections of our civil society organizations at the time. This determined stance and strong objection must also be shown against daytime TV programs, immoral TV series, digital platforms, L activism, and the immorality spreading through social media.”
Yıldız: “Family law must be reviewed”
Continuing his rhetoric of hatred toward LGBTI+ people, Yıldız argued that family law should be revised:“It is clear that the way to protect the family against forces seeking to produce an identityless, genderless, and value-stripped society is by first embracing our own families and living in accordance with the natural family model guided by our faith. Therefore, while we resist the deviant plans of the global system, we must also eliminate our internal weaknesses and reinforce our social structure with our ancient values.”
Memur-Sen President Ali Yalçın also targeted LGBTI+ people in his speech
At the workshop, Memur-Sen President Ali Yalçın, who is leading the anti-LGBTI+ petition campaign, also gave a speech. Claiming that the family is a matter of “national survival,” Yalçın continued his hateful rhetoric and said family law should be reorganized:“While we fight against deviant lobbies, we must also address the structural problems that weaken the family, such as issues in working life, substance addiction, violence, unemployment, individualism, extreme secularization, and disconnection from tradition. To rebuild the whole of social life, we must turn to our ancient values. Because I believe the only habitat in which the family can thrive is one established with our ancient values.”
Diyanet-Sen had previously announced its Year of the Family Action Plan
Following the declaration of 2025 as the Year of the Family and the introduction of a draft law proposing amendments to the Civil and Penal Codes targeting LGBTI+ people, Diyanet-Sen had also targeted LGBTI+ individuals. On Friday, February 28, Diyanet-Sen announced its Year of the Family Action Plan at a press conference.In the announced plan, Diyanet-Sen stated that they would organize petition campaigns to demand the monitoring of digital platforms and television series, submit complaints to the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), and hold press conferences in all 81 provinces.
Among the anti-LGBTI+ activities planned under the Year of the Family Action Plan are a “Family Workshop” to be organized in collaboration with Ankara Social Sciences University and the publication of a 2025 special issue of the Women and Family journal focusing on family.
Tags: human rights, life, family
