LGBTI Rights in Turkey
Sexuality and the State in the Middle East

The LGBTI community in Turkey face real dangers. In 2015, the Turkish police interrupted the LGBTI Pride march in Istanbul, using tear gas and rubber bullets against the marchers. This marked the first attempt by the authorities to stop the parade by force, and similar actions occurred the following year. Here, Fait Muedini examines these levels of discrimination in Turkey, as well as exploring how activists are working to improve human rights for LGBTI individuals living in this hostile environment. Muedini bases his analysis on interviews taken with a number of NGO leaders and activists of leading LGBTI organisations in the region, including Lambda Istanbul, Kaos GL, Pembe Hayat, Social Policies, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Studies Association (SPoD), and Families of LGBT's in Istanbul (L?STAG). The original information provided by these interviews illuminate the challenges facing the LGBTI community, and the brave actions taken by activists in their attempts to challenge the state and secure sexual equality.

1. Islam, public opinion, and homosexuality in Turkey and the 'Muslim world'; 2. The history of human rights abuses against the LGBTI community in Turkey; 3. The lack of legal protections for the LGBTI community in Turkish law; 4. LGBTI advocacy methods and approaches: looking at the wider field; 5. The use of media in promoting sexual minority rights in Turkey; 6. Political, electoral, and legislative strategies for LGBTI rights; 7. Other forms of LGBTI rights based advocacy; 8. Challenges facing the LGBTI movement in Turkey; 9. Conclusion.

Fait Muedini is the Frances Shera Fessler Professor of International Studies at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. He has written and teaches on issues of human rights, and Middle East and North Africa politics. His work has appeared in a number of outlets including Foreign Affairs. He is also the author of Human Rights and Universal Child Primary Education (2015), and Sponsoring Sufism: How Governments Promote 'Mystical Islam' in their Domestic and Foreign Policies (2015), and is the founder and developer of InternationalRelations.org.