'Yaşar Ne Yaşar Ne Yaşamaz' becomes reality: He has been trying to prove he is a man for 38 years!

Registered to the population of Hisarkaya village in the Bulancak district of Giresun, 52-year-old Kumral Bodur was registered as a woman with a pink ID card due to a mistake by the civil registry director.

Unable to do his military service, register his children under his name, or get social security during his working life due to his female ID, Kumral Bodur, who could not change his ID despite 15 judges and 19 prosecutors changing during his legal struggle, said that a single mistake cost him a lifetime.

"MY ID CAME OUT PINK"

Bodur described his life, which turned into a story like author Aziz Nesin's novel "Yaşar Ne Yaşar Ne Yaşamaz," as follows:

"In the past, civil registry directors would go to villages, make registrations, and enter them into the population registry. Around the time I was going to start primary school, my father registered us by telling the names and ages of the children to the registry official who came to the village. A week later, my father was told to come and pick up the IDs from the town center. A week later, my father went to Bulancak, picked up the IDs, and came back. While distributing my siblings' IDs, the IDs of my 6 brothers came out blue, and mine came out pink. When I went to school, my teacher saw my ID and told me, 'Your ID has been registered as a girl, tell your father to change it to a male ID.' My father told the teacher, 'Let him finish school, he will change it himself.' And after that, my legal struggle began."

"A MEDICAL BOARD REPORT WAS REQUESTED FROM A DOCTOR"

"School finished and I started working at a restaurant in the Bulancak district. Judges and prosecutors used to come here too. One day, when my boss explained my situation, a prosecutor who was there asked me to file a petition of complaint. So I had a petition writer draft one and went. However, no result came from the hearings, and a year later, I was told that my father needed to file the lawsuit because I was underage. So I told my father, and he filed the lawsuit. This time, an expert committee from the villagers was requested. Every village council member, relative, and neighbor in the village was listed as a witness. We started hiring a car from the village every 3 months to come to court. On those days, there were no other hearings; only our hearing was being handled. Just as the case was about to conclude, the case was dropped because a decision was not made within 2 years. A lawsuit was filed again. This time the judge changed, and I was asked to file the lawsuit myself since I was 18. This time I filed the lawsuit, and the villagers were saved from coming to court. However, this time a medical board report from a doctor was requested from me. I went to whichever hospital they told me to, but throughout the case, either the judge or the prosecutor changed, but our ID did not change. Then they asked me to hire a lawyer. I had an acquaintance, so I gave power of attorney to that lawyer. This time everything started all over again. From this hospital to that hospital, I tried to prove I was a man. But again, I couldn't get any results."

"MY WIFE APPEARS AS A WOMAN AND I APPEAR AS A WOMAN TOO"

"While our legal struggle continued on one hand, we were getting older on the other. During this time, I got married 3 times. I couldn't register any of them under my name because I appeared as a woman. We got married with an imam marriage (religious ceremony). I had 4 children from these marriages. However, because I couldn't have an official civil marriage, we couldn't register our children under our names either. My wife appears as a woman, and I appear as a woman too. Because of this, we found the solution in registering my children under my brother's name. Now I want to take these children under my name, but I am afraid to go to court. Because the children are under 18, it will drag on with a lot of procedures and evidence like DNA tests to prove the children are mine. But when they turn 18, it will be easy for them to transfer to my registry based on their own declarations."

THEY SAID "YOU APPEAR AS A WOMAN"

"The court had sent me for a medical board report to get a report stating that I am a man. Because I had gone so many times, my psychology was ruined. So I took my wife and children and went like that. When the doctor told me I needed to undress, I asked if my wife and children being here didn't prove I was a man. At that moment, my wife was standing right next to me, and when I pushed her back with my hand to step aside, the doctors filed a complaint against me for violence against my wife. They sentenced me and sent me to Keşap Open Prison. I said, 'Check my ID and documents well and then throw me in here,' but they didn't listen and threw me inside. A day had passed when they called me with an announcement. The director told me, 'You appear as a woman, we cannot keep you here.' Then, in the middle of the night, they brought me to the Giresun city center with the prison food vehicle, dropped me off, and left."

"MY 38-YEAR LONGING HAS ENDED"

"If I got caught in a police checkpoint with my own ID, I am a man, but because my ID said woman, I always had problems. I just couldn't explain the mistake that was made. For this reason, I found the solution in walking around with a photocopy of my brother's ID. Because I couldn't get a proper, permanent job due to my ID, I was working in construction and such. Most recently, while working in a construction job in Bitlis, it was discovered that I had a female ID when the company was about to register me for social security. I explained that I was walking around with a photocopy of my brother's ID. They said they would convey this situation to AK Party Bitlis Deputy Vahit Kiler, who I thought had a connection to the construction, and they took my TR identity number. 3 days later, they called me. I was told I could go to the civil registry office and change my ID. My 38-year longing ended that day. I immediately went to the civil registry office. They asked me for a photo and gave me my male ID within 5 minutes. When I took the ID in my hand, I felt the bewilderment of 38 years. If it was this easy, why did I suffer so much for 38 years? Now, even if the police ask for it, I don't give my ID out of fear that something will happen to it; I mostly show my driver's license."

"WHEN I GOT MY MALE ID, I WENT TO THE MILITARY"

"I couldn't go to the military because of my female ID. Because this saddened me so much, I had forbidden those around me from talking about military service in my presence. Because I had a female ID, I couldn't go to the military. My child reached military age, but I couldn't go to the military. After getting my male ID, I went to the military recruitment branch last year, saying I was a draft evader, and said, 'I want to go to the military.' The military recruitment branch sent me to do my military service in Manisa Batıkışla. I went there with great excitement. I started my military service, but the soldiers were always looking at me, talking among themselves saying, 'Who is this old man?' After 26 days there, they sent me on sick leave. When the sick leave period ended and I wanted to go back, they referred me to a medical board and did not take me back into the military. After some time passed, a paper came to the house saying 'Draft evader.' So I went to the military recruitment branch and showed my discharge papers. It is obvious that my male ID is only just entering the records of official institutions and organizations."

News Source: İHA