Turkeys Pride Week more about resistance than celebration [Video]

For Iris Mozalar, a young transgender woman living in Istanbul, Pride Week is “more about resistance than celebration” under Turkey’s conservative government, which is openly hostile towards the LGBTQ community.

“Ours is a struggle to survive,” the 24-year-old told AFP at her home in Istanbul where she studies urban planning and works as a DJ and model — on the eve of the annual Pride celebration, which Turkey’s government routinely bans.

During his re-election campaign last year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his allies turned the LGBTQ community into his favourite target, railing against them as “perverse” and a threat to traditional family values, with activists saying it triggered an upsurge in hostility towards them.

“We are waging a struggle against the police, against the state security apparatus,” said Mozalar, a willowy figure with long tawny hair, a serious air and an engaging smile.

“That’s why I can never …