'Family' amendment in Constitution is 'hate politics hidden behind stating the obvious' says activist

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Yağmur Birdal, a lawyer and an activist, spoke to bianet about the recent discussions for an amendment in the Constitution on the definition of the family and the new hostile rhetoric raised against LGBTI+ people.

Discussions that started with President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan saying "Let's put the family issue also in the Constitution" are taking shape, with an amendment proposed in article 41 of the Constitution of Türkiye defining the family.

Article 41 of the Constitution says, "The family is the foundation of Turkish society and based on equality between spouses."
This expression will be deleted and replaced with "the family is constructed by a man and a woman."

Anti-LGBTİ+ meetings have been organized at the same period with these discussions for an amendment in the constitution, with the first one in İstanbul and then in Ankara, İzmir, Urfa and Konya which were named "Families are under attack."

"They are showing their teeth to LGBTI+ people"

Lawyer Birdal thinks that the new family legislation to be made in the Constitution amounts to carrying a big stick for LGBTI+ people.
Birdal says, "The provisions concerning marriage as they are in the Turkish Civil Code are applied to the individuals who are registered as women or men in their identity documents already. Therefore the amendment proposed is nothing more than stating the obvious, but this move amounts to showing their teeth to LGBTI+ people.

"From the very beginning, AKP's policy towards LGBTI+ people is to criminalize different sexual orientations putting them on par with pedophilia, bringing to the fore the male dominant family institution and to stir up phobic behaviors and to intentionally cause a group already with limited social visibility and access to rights to become a target. It is clear that they are taking governments of other countries whose power and legitimacy is weakened. We see the results of such policies in the African continent.

"The real problem here is the hate politics hidden behind stating the obvious. The discussion on this amendment fuels the hate that we fight against which exists in the public sphere. It is again a manipulative language showing the possibility that individuals not belonging to the system of two genders may be disregarded by the state. They may say that one cannot infer that from the wording of the law, but we know how they will bend that wording from our previous experiences."

Birdal underlined that the laws and their implementation differed very much, and said, "Yes, rights are protected in the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, but in practice how many trans murders are being investigated effectively? How many legal precedents are there on mobbing against LGBTI+ people at workplaces, or on LGBTI+ people not being employed? Are there any preventive or supportive mechanisms to prevent peer bullying? Why are there no special arrangements for trans prisoners? While we are trying to struggle for such demands, the government is restricting the scope of the discussion so far, that we have to start all over. So we have to repeat one of our first slogans even louder and say 'We exist and we will exist'."

Anti-LGBTI+ rallies

Anti-LGBTI+ rallies have been organized in various parts of Türkiye starting in mid-September. 

The first such rally was held in İstanbul's Fatih district on September 18, with the attendance of hundreds of people. 

The government has openly supported the rallies, with an MP and politicians from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) attending the gathering in the northeastern Trabzon city on November 5.

President and AKP Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also announced support for the rallies under the theme of "protecting the family."

(ED/HA/PE/VK)