08/07/2026 | Writer: Kaos GL
The private school where trans teacher Zoe Lila worked has decided not to renew her contract after she was targeted by pro-government media outlets. Lila spoke to KaosGL.org about what happened.
Anti-LGBTI+ targeting has added another case to violations of the right to work. Zoe Lila, a trans English teacher at Private Açı Secondary School in Istanbul’s Sarıyer district, was not offered a contract renewal after being targeted by pro-government media outlets. Lila lost her job after the school's seminar for parents on "Gender Identity Development" and the communication process with students were portrayed as controversial in the media.
Lila spoke to KaosGL.org about what happened. She said she had been working at the school since August 2021 and had served as a homeroom teacher for the past two years. She also volunteered on the school's inclusion and social responsibility committees.
"I shared the process with the school administration"
Lila explained that she began the legal gender affirmation process in June 2024. Following multiple psychiatric and medical evaluations and hormone therapy, she obtained authorization for gender-affirming surgery.
Lila said she informed the school administration from the very beginning of the process:
"At the beginning of the 2024-2025 academic year, I openly shared the entire process with the school administrators. They were all very supportive and told me they would stand by me throughout."
According to Lila, the school sought guidance from external experts on how to communicate the process with students, updated its inclusion policies, and prepared the content of the announcement in line with recommendations from school administrators and specialists.
"The students were more inclusive than I expected"
Lila said she informed the teaching staff on June 11 and, a few days later, disclosed to six classes comprising approximately 125 students that she was trans. She said the students responded positively:
"It was a brief talk that lasted less than a minute. The students' reactions were more positive and more inclusive than I had expected. Apart from using my new name, life continued as normal."
Lila added that information about the process was also shared during a parent seminar held the same day. Most parents were supportive, and she continued teaching with hope.
"I received death threats. I wasn't safe even in my own home"
Lila said everything changed after pro-government media outlets targeted her:
"I was called out of class to ask whether I had seen the news. After the devastating impact of those reports and the rights violations that followed, I left the school without even having the chance to say goodbye to my students."
While she received many messages of support, Lila also said she faced death threats and had to leave her home for safety reasons:
"I received supportive emails from around 10 to 15 parents. I also received a death threat from a relative I hadn't been in contact with. I spent the weekend in different locations to ensure my safety. I wasn't even safe in my own home."
"I was told my contract would not be renewed one day before my surgery"
Lila said that before her surgery, the school administration advised her not to come to school so she could rest. Later, during an online meeting, she was informed that her contract would not be renewed.
"The General Director and the school principal told me they had done everything they could, but unfortunately they would not be renewing my contract. One day before my surgery, I was left completely alone as a result of the Ministry of National Education's systematic violence. My right to work was taken away. I became a living example of a human rights violation."
"I will still be an educator tomorrow"
Lila described what happened as a consequence of the Ministry of National Education's anti-LGBTI+ policies:
"I will continue my struggle for my rights. I was an educator yesterday, I am an educator today, and I will be an educator tomorrow. With the state's declaration of the 'Year of the Family,' my very existence has been targeted."
"A clear violation of the Constitution"
Lila's lawyer, Furkan Yurt, said that the decision not to renew her contract following the media targeting constituted a violation of rights under both domestic and international law.
"This dismissal decision, together with the digital lynching campaign that preceded it, constitutes a clear violation of the universal principles of law, the Constitution, and the legislation currently in force."
Referring to Article 5 of Turkey's Labour Law No. 4857, which guarantees equal treatment in employment, Yurt stressed that a person's gender affirmation process cannot be used as a criterion for professional competence:
"Our client's gender affirmation process, conducted entirely within the legal and medical framework under Article 40 of the Turkish Civil Code, cannot be considered a measure of their qualifications or professional performance as a teacher. Terminating their employment solely because of their existence and their exercise of legally protected rights constitutes a clear ground for compensation under Article 5 of the Labour Law."
"The employer is becoming complicit in a culture of lynching"
Yurt said educational institutions have a responsibility to protect their employees' rights rather than surrendering to hate campaigns.
Pointing to the established case law of Turkey's Constitutional Court, Yurt emphasized that gender identity and gender affirmation are protected under the right to respect for private life:
"Presenting this as a 'scandal' in the media constitutes an offence. The employer's decision to terminate the employment contract by joining this culture of lynching amounts to confirmation of a constitutional violation."
Yurt also referred to the European Court of Human Rights' judgments in Christine Goodwin v. the United Kingdom and Y.Y. v. Turkey, noting that states have a positive obligation to recognize and protect trans people's identities and to prevent discrimination:
"Depriving people of their right to work because of their gender identity can never be accepted in a democratic society."
Legal action initiated against hate content
Yurt said they had applied to the Istanbul Criminal Judgeship of Peace for the removal of the content targeting Zoe Lila and for access-blocking orders against the relevant media outlets. They also initiated legal proceedings against the educational institution that terminated Lila's employment:
"Zoe Lila is not alone. The right to education and the right to be an educator are too fundamental to be cut down in the corridors of hate. They are protected by the Constitution."
Tags: human rights, women, media, arts and culture, life, education, labour, family, lgbti
