Turkish 'Madonna' faces jail as crackdown on pop music intensifies
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- 06 Oct 2022
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Drawing thousands, Gulsen regularly performs at sell-out concerts. Her music, her outfits, and her support of LGBTQ rights, has seen her widely dubbed the "Turkish Madonna".
But Gulsen ended up in court and jail when a video of a private joke denigrating religious schools went public on social media.
"Gulsen has become a target for Islamists for a long time not just because of the way she appears in her shows but also for her support for LGBT movements," said sociologist Nazli Okten of Galatasaray University, an expert on popular culture.
Gulsen jailed
But Gulsen's jailing sparked outrage, with football supporters even singing her songs in support.
The US State Department also expressed concern over her detention. Public pressure saw her released, but she still faces prison if convicted of inciting religious hatred.
Erdogan addressing his supporters strongly backed Gulsen's prosecution. With elections less than a year away and lagging in the polls, Erodgan is seeking to rally his religious base.
This summer, Turkish authorities have also banned music festivals across Turkey, hitting the industry hard.
"There is big money turning around these festivals, not only for the artists but people working behind the scene," said Ipek Kocyigit, head of Turkey's Musicians Union.
"I know there were 20 festivals canceled recently, which is a big number," added Kocyigit.
"These 20 festivals were canceled for what? For the ethnic identity or the political view of the artist or for the way of dressing of a female singer."
Pop music
Pop music festivals often drawing tens of thousands have spread to Turkey's more conservative regions. The result of the success of Erdogan's massive expansion of universities, from 78 to over 200 institutions argues Okten.
"The number of universities are going up, the scene in the cities is also changing with not also with the coming of university students," she said.
"Also these university students are changing their lives, because they are independent, they are not living with the family, they are not living in this traditional environment, they have a different kind of liberties. Read More…
