26/06/2024 | Writer: Kaos GL
Women are Strong Together Initiative issued a statement in support of DEM Party Istanbul MPs Özgül Saki and Kezban Konukçu, who were targeted for hanging a trans flag on the Golden Horn Bridge.
Photograph: Tuğçe Yılmaz
During the 10th Trans Pride March on June 23, Sunday Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Istanbul MPs Özgül Saki and Kezban Konukçu also hung a trans flag on the Atatürk Bridge in Golden Horn in order to be in solidarity with trans people.
Pro-government media organizations and social media accounts targeted Özgül Saki and Kezban Konukçu.
Women are Strong Together issued a statement on the targeting of Saki and Konukçu. The full statement is as follows:
“We will always have each other’s backs”
“We stood together against hatred, transphobia, and homophobia at the Trans Pride March! Despite the oppression, street blockades, and transportation interruptions, we celebrated the Trans Pride March in every corner of the city, adorning Istanbul’s streets with our flags and declaring, ‘The State as Perpetrator’. Our presence extended beyond Istanbul to Amed and Mardin. In the streets of Amed and Mardin, we will always have each other’s backs, fighting against the mob of men with sticks who sought to attack the lives and freedoms of women and queers.
We know who organizes ‘hate marches’ under the guise of upholding the sacred family, who prioritize strengthening the family over supporting women even as 7 women were murdered in the last 24 hours. We see those who target Law 6284 when they should be opposing male violence, those who acquit perpetrators in court, and those who don't even attempt to find the killers of transgender people!
We are not silent, we are not afraid, we do not obey! We know that our experiences in this country is common. We know that the fascist regime has declared war on those who do not conform to its ideals, using all its tools to empower enemies of women and LGBTI+ people. WOMEN ARE STRONG TOGETHER.
As part of this organized attack, our comrades Özgül Saki and Kezban Konukçu, who saluted the 10th Trans Pride March, were targeted on social media.
‘Every march of ours is a Pride March’
We know that those who say ‘There is a fire, what trans?’ to legitimize their attacks while targeting our friends, and those who say ‘What do we care if the fire broke out in the Kurdish region,’ share common ground.
It is possible to defend nature, the right to life, and our existence simultaneously and together. The other way around is not possible.
As women and LGBTI+ people, we will never step back against sexist hate language and mentality. We will never stop defending the Trans Pride March, women’s struggle for freedom, our existence, cities, and forests.
From here, we call out to the government and the bourgeois press that paved the way for this language and mentality: We will not leave even one person behind. Every march against transphobia, homophobia, hatred, and patriarchy is a pride march!”
Tags: human rights
