An Alternative Story

Turkey made negative headlines around the world again this weekend after sending in a heavy police force to disperse a peaceful gay pride parade in İstanbul with water cannons, rubber bullets and tear gas. The İstanbul governor made a last minute decision to ban the yearly event, justifying the move with the fact that the march was scheduled during Ramadan.
Government supporters will no doubt view the critical coverage as additional proof of foreign prejudice against Turkey. Global superstar Lady Gaga drew attention to the police crackdown on Twitter, expressing outrage to her 48 million followers as footage of participants literally swept off their feet by the force of water cannons spread on social media.

Had the authorities not attempted to block a cheerful gathering, which was not a protest, but a celebration, the news stories could have been very different. They could have highlighted the fact that İstanbul's gay pride march has been growing steadily since some 30 activists, bravely marching against the strong social tide, launched it 12 years ago. From a few dozen people, it has grown to include tens of thousands. It is the biggest in the Muslim world, and this year, in spite of the authorities' aggressive response, it attracted a large crowd of people from all walks of life and was attended by foreign diplomats, opposition politicians as well as foreign tourists.

Homophobic sentiment remains strong in Turkey's conservative society and violent incidents targeting gay or trans people are still depressingly frequent. Many people are still worried about declaring their sexual orientation for fear of facing discrimination at work and in society.

On the other hand, awareness of gay rights has increased significantly in recent years and the LGBTI movement has never been as visible and influential as it is now. This year, the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) fielded an openly gay candidate in the parliamentary election. In recent months, the opposition tabled legal proposals in Parliament to prevent discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. For all the hostile official statements, such as the infamous description of homosexuality as a “a biological disorder… a disease that requires treatment” by former Justice and Development Party (AK Party) minister Selma Aliye Kavaf in 2010 and the army's humiliating policies toward gay recruits that have been condemned by human rights groups, there are also signs that popular perceptions are evolving.

It is easy to forget how recently the balance tipped in favor of greater tolerance in most Western societies. Several countries have passed legislation to enable gay marriages in recent months, including Ireland, which was until recently a bastion of religious conservatism and only decriminalized homosexuality in 1963. The Ottoman Empire, incidentally, took this step in 1858. Alan Turing, the scientist who cracked the Germans' Enigma code during the World War II and who inspired the film “The Imitation Game,” committed suicide after being hounded for his sexual orientation in the UK.

Last week, the White House in Washington, D.C., was illuminated in rainbow colors after the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal across the country. A Gallup chart showed how rapidly acceptance of gay marriage in the US rose over the past 20 years from only 27 percent in 1996 to 60 percent this year, picking up pace in the past decade.

Progress may be slow in Turkey and society still has a way to go until gay people can come out without fear, but the police assault on the gay pride march does not reflect the whole story. In spite of official attempts to hinder social change, a growing number of people support diversity and a live-and-let-live attitude.

The presidential palace in Ankara is unlikely to take on rainbow colors anytime soon and few people expect conservatives to approve of or support gay relationships. What is required is that politicians ensure that the law provides the same rights and legal protections to all human beings, irrespective of their race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation. Civil society can do the rest, as long as the authorities don't interfere with heavy-handed policies promoting prejudice.

NICOLE POPE (Cihan/Today's Zaman)