22/06/2026 | Writer: Kaos GL
The 12th Trans Pride March was held in Istanbul despite all bans and restrictions. Following the march, police stopped numerous people in side streets and carried out ID checks; more than 10 people, including journalists, were detained.
Photo: Yusuf Çelik
Despite bans imposed in Beyoğlu and Kadıköy, transportation restrictions, and extensive security measures, the 12th Trans Pride March took place in Istanbul. Following the Beyoğlu District Governorate’s decision to ban demonstrations and events across the district, the Taksim Metro Station was closed and numerous streets and avenues were blocked to traffic. The Kadıköy District Governorate also prohibited meetings and demonstrations throughout the district. Despite all attempts to prevent it, trans people marched in Kadıköy. DEM Party Istanbul MP Özgül Saki also joined the march.
After the march, police stopped and conducted ID checks on numerous people in side streets. More than 10 people, including journalists Yusuf Çelik and Doğa Tekneci, were detained. All detainees were released following statement procedures.
In the press statement delivered during the march, organizers recalled that this year’s theme was “Trans Imagination,” stating:
“To be able to dream freely is a political act. Everything can be transformed, and everything can be questioned.”
Referring to the bans and security measures imposed across the city, the statement continued:
“The entire city is under siege! Yet here we are together at the 12th Trans Pride March, side by side and strong. Because we imagine, and it becomes reality. Once again, as they have tirelessly attempted in recent years, they tried to place the entire city under lockdown and prevent us from gathering. Yet here we are again. We found each other in the streets and throughout the city. We became each other’s remedy and breath.”
The statement also addressed trans people’s right to healthcare and the recent anti-LGBTI+ legislative proposals. It criticized state policies targeting trans bodies, saying:
“Whether it’s the 11th or the 12th Judicial Package, the de facto hormone restrictions that have continued since the pandemic, or the unconstitutional increase in the minimum age for gender affirmation procedures…”
“We keep transitioning, with hormones or without”
Trans activists also recalled the difficulties experienced in accessing hormone treatment in recent years:
“They unlawfully attempted to restrict hormone use on a whim. But despite all these policies, what do we do? We keep transitioning, with hormones or without hormones. Through our own resources, our solidarity, and despite them, we continue.”
The statement commemorated Eylül Cansın, Hande Kader, Poyraz, Arya, Cindy Çağla, Dora Özer, Okyanus Efe, Roşin Çiçek, and other trans people who lost their lives in murders and suspicious deaths, while calling for justice. It also drew attention to rights violations faced by trans sex workers and recalled the sealing of venues on Bayram Street as well as past attacks targeting trans communities.
“They cannot steal our dreams”
One section of the statement criticized family-centered policies:
“For us, family means the erasure of trans children, the mutilation of intersex children, the exploitation of women’s labor, their killing, and their exposure to male violence. To those who say we are ‘destroying the family,’ we say this: your accusations are correct. We reject the family that functions as a site of violence against women and trans people.”
The Trans Pride March Committee also referred to the recent blocking of numerous LGBTI+ organizations’ social media accounts, stating:
“Two days before our Pride March, they tried to shut down our social media channels simply because they contained the term ‘LGBTI+.’ Despite being targeted by the mainstream media acting in line with the state’s agenda, they failed.”
The statement concluded:
“We, as trans people, are here to dismantle the borders imposed by patriarchy, capitalism, states, and colonialism. No matter what they put us through, they cannot steal our dreams.”
Tags: human rights, women, media, life, family, lgbti
