Ankara, Aug 21: Hande Kader, 22-year-old transgender woman, was reportedly raped and set on fire last week in Turkey. Kader, a sex worker and an activist for the rights of LGBT community, was found dead in Istanbul on August 12.
Since her death, LGBT rights campaigners have been tweeting with the hashtag #HandeKadereSesVer – which means ‘Make some noise for Hande Kader’. She was a symbolic figure in the country and had been the face of demonstrations by the LGBT community, especially after last year’s gay pride parade.
The middle eastern country has not criminalized the LGBT community but is extremely conservative on the issue and being a transgender is being frowned upon by society. The community has struggled recently under constant fear of persecution from the country’s conservative religious leaders. However, the death of Kader paved way for large-scale public outrage and protests in Istanbul.
Just a fortnight ago, a gay Syrian refugee named Muhammed Wisam Sankari was also murdered after being raped.
The social media campaign has successfully sparked debate across the world about homophobia. On Sunday, the protesters are likely to take to streets demanding action against Kader’s death and increasing safety measures for the LGBT community.
This Turkish women was burnt to death only because she was trans.
Don't let this go unnoticed. #HandeKadereSesVer pic.twitter.com/viyI8doWZv
— Eduardo Solis (@EndBullyinNow) August 18, 2016
It's not so much that the world scares me, it's more of the people that live in it. #lgbtq #HandeKadereSesVer pic.twitter.com/Xo5CEqiJS2
— A Random Girl (@stuckinthoughtt) August 19, 2016
Comments
Add new comment