Remembering Our Dead

TDoR 2019 / 2019 / July / 22 / Didem Akay

Didem Akay

22 Jul 2019
Istanbul (Turkey)
Suicide

Didem hanged herself in a hotel room after suffering from transphobic abuse and psychological trauma. She was a close friend of Hande Kader, who was killed in August 2016.

Trans woman Didem Akay reportedly committed suicide and ended her life. Didem Akay, who was chosen as Miss Trans in 2018, was shared by her friends, who committed suicide because of the pressures she experienced. Didem Akay was a close friend of Hande Kader.

Fotograftaki iki trans kadin da artik hayatta degil. Hande Kader'i yakar öldürdüler. Didem Akay'i da dün, transfobik söylemler ve psikolojik siddetle intihara zorladilar. Huzur içinde uyuyun #DidemAkay pic.twitter.com/DGM1BW4xGo
— ?????? Altar'in Oglu Tarkan ?????? (@altarinolutrkn) July 23, 2019

"The two trans women in the photograph are no longer alive. They killed Hande Kader. Didem Akay died yesterday by suicide after suffering from transphobic abuse and psychological violence. Sleep peacefully, #DidemAkay."

This photo is from the first banned Istanbul Pride Parade, 2015. Immediately before the photo, the police used violently disproportionate force against those present. The woman on the right is Hande Kader. Hande Kader was burned to death in 2016. Didem Akay, the woman on the left, ended her life yesterday.

We know that those who killed Hande, who drove Didem to suicide, and who forbade our marches were the same people and the same policies. Your dual sexist, transphobic, heterosexist policies cost the lives of LGBTI+ people. We will continue our struggle to protect our right to life, to survive, to take what we have right, to organize, both for Hande, and for Didem.

“Trans suicides are murder! Trans murders are political! Women's murders are political!”

In January 2019 Didem was interviewed about her appointment as Miss Trans 2018: