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 (LISTAG). 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.

Turkey's hostile approach to the LGBTI community leads Muedini to document the history of LGBTI rights, rights abuses, and activist strategies to secure LGBTI rights in Turkey.

About the Author
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.


Book Information
ISBN 9781108404730
Author Fait Muedini
Format Paperback
Page Count 274
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 410g
Dimensions(mm) 227mm * 151mm * 15mm