01/08/2023 | Writer: Aslı Alpar
Neighborhood residents, the Mukhtar and shopkeepers agreed on transphobia and evicted trans woman Atiye Güney from her home!
Atiye Güney, a trans woman who has been living in her flat rented in Pendik, İstanbul for the past three years, was first subjected to harassment by her neighbors. The landlord increased the rent by three hundred per cent when he found out that Güney was a trans woman. Then the shopkeepers in the neighborhood continued to harass Güney, the head of the neighborhood came to Güney’s house and threatened her.
Following the threats from the neighborhood, shopkeepers and the Mukhtar, Güney was beaten by three unidentified men while she was shopping and then she was evicted from her home.
Güney, who is also a member of LGBTI+ Commission of the Human Rights Association, filed a criminal complaint against the attackers and told her experiences to KaosGL.org.
“I didn’t file a complaint for fear of being evicted from my home”
How long have you been living in this house?
I rented it three years ago. I had no problem because I rented it through a real estate agent. However my neighbourhood called my landlord and told him that I was a trans woman, and my landlord increased the rent from 1500 TL to 6000 TL.
And?…
We had security cameras installed in the apartment building, and frankly I think these cameras are essential for my personal safety. However we noticed that the shopkeepers on the other side of the block were tampering with the cameras. I went to the shopkeepers with my two lesbian friends and asked them not to manipulate the cameras. All of a sudden, fifteen men around started attacking me. Thanks to the protection of my lesbian friends, we were able to leave the scene without being beaten up.
Did you file a complaint?
No, I didn’t. The next day, I met the police outside of the building, as soon as I came out. They asked me about the incident happened the day before. The shop owner didn’t file a complaint, I didn’t file a complaint either, because I didn’t think that my complaint would be taken into consideration due to being a trans woman. Actually I didn’t want to stick out like a sore thumb and I was also worried that I might be subjected to a transphobic violence again. It is really hard to find a house to rent in Pendik, and I was afraid that I would not be able to rent a new one if I had problems here. The police told me “Neither side has filed a complaint, so what is the problem?” I got through the police investigation on my feet, then I was confronted by a woman, who I later found out was the Mukhtar of the neighborhood.
Mukhtar of the neighborhood: “I won’t harbor you here around”
What did Mukhtar say?
The Mukhtar is a woman. She said “Come to my office sometime and I will inquire about your place residence” without even saying hello. Such a procedure didn’t make any sense to me. Besides, I didn’t know her so I asked her who she was. She replied: “I am the Mukhtar, who is responsible for 18 thousands of people.” And I said: “If you need to check my residence I can give you my ID number, however I don’t understand why I have to come to your office.” This is what she told me: “If you don’t come, I will find someone to bring you.”
The police were still nearby, so I said: “Look, the police officers are there, if there’s a problem, let’s call them.” And the Mukhtar said: “I know people like you very well, I am not going to harbor you here.”
I am a member of LGBTI+ Commission of the Human Rights Association, and I told her that I was a human rights activist and what she was saying was discriminatory.
Did the landlord learn the on-goings?
Yes, he learned. He asked me to leave the house after the incident. The Mukhtar contacted my landlord through the General Directorate of Land Registry, I don’t know what she told but my landlord asked me to leave the house.
“I went in and out of my own house like a thief”
Were you able to get in the house after that?
Yes I did, but how… I stayed with my friends, my mother for a while. When I had to go home, I preferred the very early hours of the morning, I mean when people hadn’t woken up yet, and also the very late hours of the night, when everyone was asleep. I went in and out of my own house like a thief for a while. I couldn’t work for two months, but I still wasn’t able the prevent the last violence I was exposed to…
How did it happen?
My boyfriend and I were on our way home. There was no parking lot in the neighbourhood, so he parked on the beach, very close to my house. I went to supermarket to buy something. I think it was around 7pm. Suddenly someone pulled my hair, I thought that it was my boyfriend and he was joking. However, when I turned around I realized that there were three men behind me and all of a sudden they started beating me. One of them punched me in the eye and the other pulled my hair. When I started screaming, all three of them ran away. Some people around tried to help me but I was so scared and didn’t trust anyone so I ran to my boyfriend. While I was telling my friend what I had been through, I saw the three men, who had beaten me, and I pointed them out to my boyfriend. When my boyfriend went up to them to find out why they had attacked me, they beat him up and broke his arm. We desperately got into the car and they threw stones at our car targeting at the side where I was sitting.
“I don’t know how to find a new flat…”
Did you go to hospital?
Yes, we went straight to the hospital. We got an assault report for my boyfriend. But I was afraid of being subjected to transphobia in the hospital by the hospital police so I called the Human Rights Association and informed them. I got an assault report from another hospital. I couldn’t sleep for a few days because of my headaches and I have a scar on my hand from the beating.
How are you now?
My psychology broke down. I had done nothing wrong and was being subjected to a hate attack just because of my gender identity. Not to mention insults, beatings, threats…
Can you get into house right now?
No, I am moving out at the end of the month. But I don’t know how to find a new flat because the rents are too high and it’s very difficult to rent a house as a trans woman.
Translation: Selma Koçak
Tags: human rights, women
