27/03/2026 | Writer: Kaos GL
During the parliamentary session where the DEM Party’s motion on representations of violence was debated, the ruling AKP announced preparations for an anti-LGBTI+ constitutional amendment.
While a motion submitted by the DEM Party on representations of violence in television series and their societal impacts was being debated in the Turkish Grand National Assembly, AKP deputies targeted LGBTI+ people.
AKP Deputy Group Chair Abdulhamit Gül stated that preparations were underway for an anti-LGBTI+ constitutional amendment and said:
“There are women and men; therefore, we do not accept anything related to sexual orientation. As the AK Party, we also have a constitutional proposal on this matter, and our call to Parliament is this: People are born as women and men, and it is both our duty and the expectation of our nation to enact a constitutional arrangement that accepts nothing beyond this.”
AKP deputy targets LGBTI+ people over the motion
The first to speak during the debate was DEM Party Diyarbakır MP Sevilay Çelenk. In the motion she presented, it was emphasized that violence in television series is not only used as a narrative element, but can also become a form of representation that reproduces gender inequality and blurs the boundaries of violence in social perception.
AKP Istanbul MP Büşra Paker, who spoke afterward, targeted LGBTI+ people through the motion and said:
“In your proposal to establish an investigative commission, I clearly see what you intend to do through repeated references to gender inequality, gender roles, and the reproduction of violence through cultural representations. If you were sincere about combating violence against women, you would not need to use such terminology. We cannot accept this proposal in which you hide behind the guise of gender and attempt to introduce confusing expressions such as LGBT plus and minus. This proposal is the clearest example, now on record, of where you stand in the fight against violence against women—that you do not value women and use them merely as a cover. We continue to work to ensure that women and men in society can live in peace. We will not allow the existence of so-called third or fifth genders that you are trying to subtly promote in our society.”
Reactions from DEM Party benches: “Shame on you!”
Following Paker’s speech, reactions such as “Shame on you” and “This kind of speech is unacceptable” were raised from the DEM Party benches.
DEM Party Deputy Group Chair Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit then took the floor and said:
“There are countless forms of violence, from sexual violence against women to economic and physical violence, and all of these are reflected in statistics. Our call is very simple: as Parliament, let us take responsibility, investigate this violence, examine its causes, and take measures. What does she say? ‘We know your struggle against violence against women.’ Well, we fight violence against women every day-in the streets, in public spaces.”
AKP’s Abdülhamit Gül: “We do not accept anything related to sexual orientation”
Interrupting Koçyiğit’s speech, AKP Deputy Group Chair Abdulhamit Gül claimed that Büşra Paker had been subjected to physical and psychological violence and stated that they were preparing an anti-LGBTI+ constitutional amendment:
“What our colleague actually said is this: of course, both our government’s stance and our ministries’ stance on violence against women are very clear, as is our group’s position. ‘Zero tolerance for violence against women’ is our main principle. However, it was stated that certain concepts such as ‘gender orientation’ are being used in a way that serves as a cover. There are women and men; therefore, we do not accept anything related to sexual orientation. As the AK Party, we have a constitutional proposal on this issue, and our call to Parliament is this: People are born as women and men, and it is both our duty and the expectation of our nation to enact a constitutional arrangement that accepts nothing beyond this.”
Koçyiğit: “You are building a system that threatens people’s right to life”
In response to Gül, Koçyiğit said:
“Another issue is that by using expressions like ‘we will allow this’ or ‘we will not allow that,’ or through exclusionary policies, you are building a system that threatens people’s right to life, and this must be abandoned. You need to see that every wrong sentence spoken here can translate into violence against people in the streets, at school, in the workplace. As politicians and as human beings, we must all speak with this responsibility. Do not distort our concepts or our words-what we say and whom we address is very clear.”
Tags: human rights, life, family
