Spotlight #19: Muazzez and Nalan

Muazzez and Nalan Başak, both age 21. Born twins in Istanbul, Türkiye, to a Turkish father and Russian mother, they were born close, but gradually drifted apart. Nalan's generally been more reserved and timid, while Muazzez has always been a strong-willed woman unafraid to try new things, or say things that might be deemed controversial where she's from. This does lead to some schisms between her and her family though. 

The biggest schism, however, came when Muazzez publicly revealed on her podcast that she was a lesbian. This led to widespread backlash against her with her family even going as far as to disown her. Though strong-willed, having her own twin sister turn on her was a hard pill to swallow. Following Muazzez coming out about being a lesbian, Nalan ended up receiving the hate meant for Muazzez, simply because she looked identical to her. At first, she tried to brush it off, but as the mistakes happened more and more, Nalan gradually morphed into a homophobe, and began publicly denouncing her sister with renewed furor. 

Guilt-ridden, Muazzez decided to shave all her hair off so as to make herself unrecognizable, hoping that would help curtail all the hate Nalan was receiving that was meant for her. It did have some effect, but ties between Muazzez and Nalan remain strained. The good news for Muazzez though is that she has a very supportive girlfriend, Jale, who's willing to stick with her through thick and thin.