Exhibition to open in Ankara on 16 November
Exhibition to open in Ankara on 16 November
The exhibition “Proudly Trans in Turkey” (original title, Trans, Onurlu ve Türkiyeli) by Gabrielle Le Roux which has been in the production phase by South African artist and social justice activist Gabrielle Le Roux in cooperation with Pembe Hayat and Istanbul LGBTT, will be open between 16 November – 16 December 2011 in Ankara. The opening will be realized by Pembe Hayat.
Many people in Turkey hide their sexual orientation or gender identity from their employers, public officials and even their families due to fear of violence or other negative treatment. They have no legal protection against discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Turkey must introduce constitutional change creating these protections and paving the way for comprehensive non-discrimination legislation.
In a recent report by Amnesty International called "Whose morals?" the international organization pointed out that "Since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002, there have been some improvements to the protection of human rights in Turkey. However, legal changes so far have not included protection of the right not to be discriminated against on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity. Without protection in domestic law, widespread discrimination against the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people continues, not only within the courts but also in everyday life".
Amnesty also underlines that "The absence of protection in law, together with government failure to take a stand against discrimination also sends a message to public officials, the media and wider civil society: that homophobia and transphobia are tolerated. When the former Minister for Women and the Family, Aliye Kavaf, said in 2010 that “homosexuality is a biological disorder, an illness and should be treated” the government reinforced the prejudice by failing to distance itself from the statement or issue an apology".
The government, says Amnesty, must break with its past record and ensure that its officials do not make statements that are likely to increase discrimination. "In June 2011, - recalled the organization - a significant number of members of parliament who supported the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people during their campaign for election were elected to Parliament. The draft Law to Combat Discrimination and Equality is scheduled to come before Parliament in this current session. If it is amended in line with international standards and it becomes law without delay, there would be comprehensive protection in law against all forms of discrimination in Turkey".
Amnesty ends its report saying that "Following the re-election of the AKP government in June 2011, there is a real opportunity to make progress towards equality for all. There is a growing political consensus on the need for fundamental constitutional change, including non- discrimination provisions at every level of the law. The authorities’ current policies and practices - concluded Amnesty - are not effective in combating suspected hate crimes. Urgent steps need to be taken to prevent further hate crimes and ensure that past crimes are effectively investigated and that the perpetrators are brought to justice".
WHO IS GABRIELLE LE ROUX
Gabrielle was born in London, raised mostly in South Africa and has lived in the Caribbean, London, Amsterdam and the Canary Islands. She is self-taught as an artist and started drawing portraits of people in her community when she lived in the Caribbean in the 1980s and then stopped drawing for many years.
On returning to South Africa in 1992 she worked as an activist with women’s rights, AIDS awareness and gay rights through various NGO’s and institutions until 2000. During her four years running the Women’s Media Watch doing advocacy, training and activism around the representation (and lack of it) of women in the media, she travelled to Cuba, Philippines, Montreal, Zimbabwe and London to give input in conferences and workshops on media and human rights issues. In 2000 she went to New York for the UN Beijing +5 Women’s Assembly as part of the Global Women’s Media Team.
In 2001 she developed the concept of portrait and story projects on a return visit to the Caribbean and her first project was about women over the age of a hundred including the world’s oldest woman. She drew and interviewed ten women in the island of Dominica and the resulting exhibition there was the first of her portrait and story projects which she sees as a continuation of her activism.
Combining first person stories with portraits drawn from life is about paying personal tribute to people who do extraordinary work and make brave choices in the face of great prejudice. Usually they are not sufficiently celebrated in our society. It is also about researching, documenting and highlighting social issues in an alternative way.
The interaction with the person she is drawing is a crucial part of the process – it is a rich and intense journey and gives the person a tangible experience of being seen. The portraits are normally done in one sitting which may take an entire day.
Many people in Turkey hide their sexual orientation or gender identity from their employers, public officials and even their families due to fear of violence or other negative treatment. They have no legal protection against discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Turkey must introduce constitutional change creating these protections and paving the way for comprehensive non-discrimination legislation.
In a recent report by Amnesty International called "Whose morals?" the international organization pointed out that "Since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002, there have been some improvements to the protection of human rights in Turkey. However, legal changes so far have not included protection of the right not to be discriminated against on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity. Without protection in domestic law, widespread discrimination against the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people continues, not only within the courts but also in everyday life".
Amnesty also underlines that "The absence of protection in law, together with government failure to take a stand against discrimination also sends a message to public officials, the media and wider civil society: that homophobia and transphobia are tolerated. When the former Minister for Women and the Family, Aliye Kavaf, said in 2010 that “homosexuality is a biological disorder, an illness and should be treated” the government reinforced the prejudice by failing to distance itself from the statement or issue an apology".
The government, says Amnesty, must break with its past record and ensure that its officials do not make statements that are likely to increase discrimination. "In June 2011, - recalled the organization - a significant number of members of parliament who supported the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people during their campaign for election were elected to Parliament. The draft Law to Combat Discrimination and Equality is scheduled to come before Parliament in this current session. If it is amended in line with international standards and it becomes law without delay, there would be comprehensive protection in law against all forms of discrimination in Turkey".
Amnesty ends its report saying that "Following the re-election of the AKP government in June 2011, there is a real opportunity to make progress towards equality for all. There is a growing political consensus on the need for fundamental constitutional change, including non- discrimination provisions at every level of the law. The authorities’ current policies and practices - concluded Amnesty - are not effective in combating suspected hate crimes. Urgent steps need to be taken to prevent further hate crimes and ensure that past crimes are effectively investigated and that the perpetrators are brought to justice".
WHO IS GABRIELLE LE ROUX
Gabrielle was born in London, raised mostly in South Africa and has lived in the Caribbean, London, Amsterdam and the Canary Islands. She is self-taught as an artist and started drawing portraits of people in her community when she lived in the Caribbean in the 1980s and then stopped drawing for many years.
On returning to South Africa in 1992 she worked as an activist with women’s rights, AIDS awareness and gay rights through various NGO’s and institutions until 2000. During her four years running the Women’s Media Watch doing advocacy, training and activism around the representation (and lack of it) of women in the media, she travelled to Cuba, Philippines, Montreal, Zimbabwe and London to give input in conferences and workshops on media and human rights issues. In 2000 she went to New York for the UN Beijing +5 Women’s Assembly as part of the Global Women’s Media Team.
In 2001 she developed the concept of portrait and story projects on a return visit to the Caribbean and her first project was about women over the age of a hundred including the world’s oldest woman. She drew and interviewed ten women in the island of Dominica and the resulting exhibition there was the first of her portrait and story projects which she sees as a continuation of her activism.
Combining first person stories with portraits drawn from life is about paying personal tribute to people who do extraordinary work and make brave choices in the face of great prejudice. Usually they are not sufficiently celebrated in our society. It is also about researching, documenting and highlighting social issues in an alternative way.
The interaction with the person she is drawing is a crucial part of the process – it is a rich and intense journey and gives the person a tangible experience of being seen. The portraits are normally done in one sitting which may take an entire day.
