TRANS WOMAN’S GENDER AFFIRMATION SURGERY

  • US$73.00
    raised of $10,000.00 goal goal
0% Funded
3 Donors

No more donations are being accepted at this time. Please contact the campaign owner if you would like to discuss further funding opportunities

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Hello, I am Zehra Sultan. I am 25 years old. I am the second child of a Kurdish family of 10 from Ağrı. At the age of 19, I escaped from my hometown and came to Istanbul. My mother, father, and siblings did not believe in my trans identity. “We will reject you if you are trans,” they said. I was exposed to verbal and physical violence. They did not allow me to go to school and forced me to work in animal husbandry at a very young age. I struggled to get my primary school diploma. I experienced a lot of trauma as a child; my closest friends tried to abuse me, everyone in my extended family was verbally and physically abusing me because of my identity. Because of this, I committed suicide many times.

My feelings were different, I felt like a woman, but no one helped me. One night, I ran away from home and came to Istanbul. I thought I could find a place to stay, but I could not. So, I stayed in Gezi Park for a month, eating whatever I could find to survive. At that time, the trans people around me gave me wigs, clothes, etc., but I resisted doing sex work because I was afraid of the police, and I was ashamed of people staring at me. I applied to many jobs, but nobody would employ me, and my family would not support me. Thus, I had to do sex work, but the money I earned was not enough to rent a house or pay the bills. The customers I met were also very bad, my friends who did the same job as I did were either beaten up or got murdered.

Despite all this, I worked for three years and saved every penny I earned. Meanwhile, I started hormone replacement therapy. My ultimate goal was to have my gender affirmation surgery because I was feeling incomplete. I had a joint bank account with my mother, and I was using that account to keep my savings for my surgery. I had almost saved all the money needed. However, three weeks ago, I found out that my mother had withdrawn all the money and used it for my brother's debts. I was devastated. All my hard work was for nothing.

Ever since I came out as trans, I have been uncomfortable with people in my family, in the social environments, in the hospitals, and in the police stations calling me by my birth name, making fun of me, and giving me weird looks. I cannot accept these. I am scared because my life is at risk in sex work. I want to have my gender affirmation surgery and get my female ID in order to get another job. I also believe that when I get my ID, I will have a chance to reunite with a part of my family whose weddings or funerals I have not been allowed to attend for years.

I need my gender affirmation surgery, my biggest dream, to be performed by experienced physicians in a good and safe hospital. In this way, I know that I will feel complete spiritually and physically, and I can exist in social life without fear. I am waiting for your support and solidarity in order to complete the money stolen from me when I was so close to my dream.

Thank you for your solidarity,
Zehra

Organizer

Donors

  • Anonymous
  • Donated on Jan 10, 2022
$13.00
  • Anonymous
  • Donated on Nov 21, 2021
$50.00
  • Anonymous
  • Donated on Nov 05, 2021
$10.00

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Donors & Comments

3 donors
  • Anonymous
  • Donated on Jan 10, 2022
$13.00
  • Anonymous
  • Donated on Nov 21, 2021
$50.00
  • Anonymous
  • Donated on Nov 05, 2021
$10.00

Followers

1 followers
Meltem Bozkurt
US$73.00
raised of $10,000.00 goal
0% Funded
3 Donors

No more donations are being accepted at this time. Please contact the campaign owner if you would like to discuss further funding opportunities