Hayır | Bengisu Çağlayan

When this episode airs, Turkey will know the results of a presidential election at a critical juncture, albeit far from being 'free'. Plus, this week marks the 10th anniversary of the Gezi Protests, a movement that challenged the increasingly oppressive regime through collective, inclusive, and anarchist means. Drawing inspiration from this fervent period, I devote this hour to the rebels of their time, aptly named "Hayır," which simply translates to 'No' in Turkish. The musicians featured in this episode refuse to accept anything as given. They practice “constant thinking and talking about privilege, fucked up social structures, refusing to let people get away with bigotry,” as punk writer Jessica Skolnik writes in “Modernist Witch”. My aspiration is for the feeling of sisterhood to transcend the limitations of our devices and for us to awaken to this day much stronger, experiencing a heightened sense of togetherness.

Photo by: Murat Özçaylak