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Outrated activists in Turkey are planning protests on Sunday to condemn the murder of a 23-year-old transgender woman who was found dead last week.
Hande Kader, was a transgender woman well known in the Turkish LGBTI community, who would commonly attend pride rallies. The BBC reported that Kader worked as a sex worker and was last seen getting into the car of one of her clients. Her charred body was found in an Istanbul forest last week.
Despite bans on large public gathering and protests following last month's failed coup, protesters are planning a large protest on the streets of Istanbul, which is reported to include some of the country’s well known figures.
Kader was a vocal activist for LGBTI rights and anti-discrimination and had continually spoke about LGBTI killings and Turkish media’s silence on LGBTI issues.
“She would go crazy when trans individuals were killed. She’d be so sad … she had been stabbed and beaten before. This didn’t happen only to Hande. It happens to all of them,” said Kader’s flatmate.
Many transgender Turks have spoke about how many were forced into sex work to make ends meets. “We are viewed not as people who can integrate into society but as the dirt of society,” said Kemal Ordek, president of transgender rights group Red Umbrella.
Turkey has the highest number of transgender murders in Europe, according to Transgender rights group, Transgender Europe.
Since last month’s failed coup, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has tightened his grip on power purging thousands of anti-government supporters. The crackdown has further weakened the rights of minorities groups including LGBTI people.
“Since the coup attempt, a number of my transgender friends have called me and talked about how they were discriminated against because of their ID cards and appearance,” Emirhan Deniz Çelebi, director of Istanbul LGBTI organization, SPoD said to France 24.
People around the world have been sharing #HandeKaderSesVer on Twitter, which translates to Make Some Noise For Hande Kader.
In 2015, police banned Istanbul's annual LGBTI pride march after breaking up crowds, and it did not go ahead this year in June either because of concerns over public order.
In late 2015, the Turkish Football Federation was ordered to pay compensation after sacking a gay referee in 2009.
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