Erdogan shares Ramadan dinner with Turkish transgender ‘Diva’ Ersoy

Bulent Ersoy, Turkey’s best-known transgender celebrity widely known as "The Diva", shared an iftar meal with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family, photos distributed by his office on Monday showed.

The meeting happened just hours after scuffles broke between police and LGBT protesters in Istanbul following the banning of a pro-transgender march and larger Gay Pride parade on security grounds.

Authorities claim they have been receiving threats from ultra-nationalist groups and were concerned they could not protect demonstrators but around a hundred people defied the ban on Sunday and took to the streets.

Some activists blame the government for allegedly helping to stoke anti-LGBT sentiments in recent months and for pandering to far-right groups.

Turkey is seen as having a relatively liberal approach to LGBT issues, and hosted its first Pride parade in 2003 with thousands of people now turning out for the annual event. The government's increasingly harsh stance toward critics, journalists and opposition activists has raised questions about whether wider liberties could be under threat.

Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (ALP) have also been accused of trying to impose conservative Islamic values on society, with the president repeatedly annoying activists with his comments on sex and family planning, although he has largely not commented publically on gay issues.

Ersoy 64, underwent sexual reassignment surgery in London in the 1980s. She returned to Turkey to pursue her career but was forced to leave as the then constitution labelled transgender people to be “social deviants” and stopped them from performing.

She returned to Turkey in the late 1980s when the laws were rewritten. She attended Sunday’s iftar – the sunset meal to break the day-long fast during Ramadan – with scores of other Turkish celebrities in an event aimed at honouring Turkey’s artistic community.