Group items tagged

Same-sex relations are not banned in Turkey. But like America, it bans gays and cross-dressing men from the army. Yet to win exemption from mandatory military service, they must prove their sexual orientation. A Human Rights Watch report notes that this can involve “abusive and intrusive anal examinations”, and adds that many are forced into psychiatric treatment because they are deemed to be mentally ill.

Sometimes it's the groom who is imported, as an honorable husband for a daughter. The imported groom is virtually powerless to oppose the union, especially with his family at home in Turkey pinning its entire hopes on his future.

It is not always easy to draw a clear line between an arranged marriage and a forced marriage.

Under the pretext of going on a vacation, Cem's parents lured their son to the Turkish Black Sea coast, where they took away his passport and pressured him until he signed the marriage contract.

Cem, a man in his mid-20s, had a similar experience, but because of his German girlfriend he refused to marry his cousin.

"I went to bed at 9:30 every night so I wouldn't have to sleep with my cousin. Or I went out," he says, "and fooled around with other girls." Women lack these freedoms. They are forced to sit at home with their in-laws, while the men can embark on minor escapades. And then there is another problem, says Berlin psychologist Erdogan: "Some men take out their frustration on their wives and become violent." The potential for such frustration is especially high among imported grooms, he says.

The 16-24-year-old age group accounted for 65% of all new chlamydia cases diagnosed in 2007, 55% of genital warts and 50% of gonorrhoea.