Protests after Turkish minister calls homosexuality ‘a disease’
A handful of activists interrupted a meeting on gender equality Thursday, demanding that a Turkish official apologize for saying recently that homosexuality is a disease, reports The Associated Press.
The minister, Aliye Kavaf, was giving a speech when the demonstrators began shouting slogans, asking her to apologize for last month’s remark.
“I believe homosexuality is a biological disorder,” Kavaf had said in March. “I think it is a disease that needs treatment.”
Homosexuality is not a crime in Turkey, but gay people say they lack legal protections and face stigmatization in the Muslim nation. Gay rights groups have been calling on the government to amend the criminal code to state clearly that discrimination on basis of sexual orientation, as well as gender identity, is a crime.
Posted by Rob Coe on April 17th, 2010 at 4:36pm
