31st March, International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) is celebrated for the 12th time worldwide this year with various events and campaigns being organised for today to celebrate the lives of transgender people as well as raising awareness of transgender rights.
Activists are organising campaigns on social media and invite the trans community and their friends to post messages for TDOV on Twitter with the hashtags #BeSeen, #TDOV, and #TransDayOfVisibility.
First organised in 2009 by transgender activist Rachel Crandall a Michigan-based transgender activist and the Executive Director of Transgender Michigan, TDOV was initially launched to raise awareness.
It has been an international day of celebratation for members of the transgender community and their allies ever since.
Before TDOV, the only day of recognition the trans community had was Transgender Day of Remembrance – a day of mourning held on 20 November commemorate trans people who have been killed by hate crimes.
‘TDOV is essential because our stories and bodies need to be uplifted’
“Growing up, I never saw myself represented in the mainstream media. My closest connection to representation were high-femme superheroes and villains, I began drawing these characters and creating my own without realising I was subconsciously expressing how I wanted to be shown to the world,” writes transgender activist Keelan regarding TDOV on Transgender Day of Visibility as part of a photo essay of a Human Rights Campaign.
“TDOV is essential because our stories and bodies need to be uplifted. We are helping to push culture forward. It shows others in our community that they are not alone and allows them to see themselves represented.” Keelan said.
Transgender Rights in Turkey
According to Trans Rights Index prepared by Transgender Europe, Turkey is among the countries where living conditions are among the hardest for transgender people.
Turkey is behind many European countries in terms of legislation protecting transgender people from discrimination. There is no legislation protecting trans people against discrimination in the area of basic needs such as shelter, employment, health, and security.
Again according to data from Trans Murder Monitoring by Transgender Europe, Turkey is one of the countries with a high rate of trans murders.