A Rare Glimpse Into Iran's Unrground Gay Communy - Towleroad Gay News

Contents:

• Y, THERE ARE GAY PEOPLE IRAN
• WHAT 'S LIKE TO BE GAY IRAN
• IRAN IS FORCG THOANDS OF GAY PEOPLE TO HAVE GENR REASSIGNMENT SURGERY AGAST THEIR WILL OR FACE EXECUTN
• A RARE GLIMPSE INTO IRAN’S UNRGROUND GAY COMMUNY
• 1 OUT OF 3 YOUNG IRANIAN MEN "GAY"?
• GAY IRAN: NO PLACE TO CALL HOME
• IRAN CHARG FAMO KURDISH SGER WH BEG GAY, FAC EXECUTN
• GAY IRANIAN MAN ALLEGEDLY KILLED BY FAY DAYS BEFORE SEEKG ASYLUM
• GAY IRANIAN MAN AD ALLEGED 'HONOR KILLG,' RIGHTS GROUP SAYS
• IRAN PURPORTEDLY EXECUT 2 GAY MEN OVER SODOMY CHARG
• GAY/QUEER SPAC TEHRAN: INTIMACY, SOCIALY, AND RISTANCE
• IRAN EXECUT 2 GAY MEN OVER SODOMY CHARG, RIGHTS GROUP SAYS

Y, THERE ARE GAY PEOPLE IRAN

Through onle activism, publishg poetry, lerature and artwork onle, and engagg wh global gay culture through televisn and the ter, gay Iranians are g of age, spe the myriad of rtrictns they still face Iranian society and at the hands of the state. Unr the current circumstanc, Iranian youth, whether gay or straight, face many different obstacl, some of which have to do wh the regime (social rtrictns and iologil and polil prsure or the enomic suatn), and some to do wh public culture (a lack of acceptance of different liftyl and closed, tradnal thkg).

Homosexuals who live small towns, more sular environments, and those who e om lower social levels and don’t have sufficient avenu for accsg rmatn and fdg others wh siar characteristics, or fdg a more accurate unrstandg about themselv, face other problems. There are those like [Islamic philosopher Abdolkarim] Soroh, who haven’t yet thought about homosexualy; there are those like the [progrsive theologian-cleric Mohsen] Kadivar who, if we nsir him an tellectual, support Islamic punishment agast homosexualy, and others like Akbar Ganji, Ram Jahanbegloo, Arash Naraghi, and others who fend the rights of homosexuals. Discrimatn between the active and the passive partners, opposg transsexuals, misogyny, ternalized homophobia, a tradnal and biased view towards two people’s relatnship, lack of sufficient emotnal matury, and over-emotnalism are some of the thgs that n more or ls be seen among homosexuals.

And while their experienc are reprentative for some of Iran's homosexuals, they are hugely different om those of the people who choose to stay the untry, or don't have the opportuny to om lower class and ral areas, where stigmatizatn is often most severe, rarely have the abily to move out of the hoe before marriage, let alone leave the untry. "The Iranian thori ually turn a bld eye to the gay muny's pas, but much like the telligence servic the former Soviet Unn, Iranian telligence is believed to pile large fil on many cizens, which they n e to build a legal se agast people who might be ught engagg polil activi. Seven months later, they rented an apartment wtern Tehran; they both still live at home and when Naeem here, he tells his parents he is gog out of town wh challenge of fdg a steady partner weighs heavily on Iranian gays; many speak of prsn, lonels and paranoia as almost permanent mental stat.

WHAT 'S LIKE TO BE GAY IRAN

While the new centrist ernment unr Print Hassan Rouhani matas a siar rea as s precsor, foreign-based media outlets like BBC Persian, Rad Zaman and Voice of Ameri e non-rogatory language about homosexuals, and is slowly tricklg down to reformist outlets si the untry, and to young Iranians, says spe s often venomo rhetoric, the Iranian regime silently accepts that gays do exist, and tak a few pragmatic steps to acunt for that Quran, the foundatn of Iranian law, explicly bans homosexualy.

IRAN IS FORCG THOANDS OF GAY PEOPLE TO HAVE GENR REASSIGNMENT SURGERY AGAST THEIR WILL OR FACE EXECUTN

Government polici persecute both homosexuals and transgenr dividuals alike for their sexualy and genr intifitn, crimalizg same-sex relatns and genr reassignment Iran has mataed and pursued polici which nmn and harshly punish homosexualy, a practice wily, and appropriately, cricized as a human rights vlatn. Grenell’s sentiments were a ntuatn of the Tmp admistratn’s mpaign which lnched Febary of 2019 to crimnalize homosexualy var natns cludg Iran and lled on global anizatns like the UN and EU ntribute to the rights have been opposn to the Iranian Penal Co sce the 1930s when Parliament passed legislatn crimalizg such relatnships, and disapproval of this discrimatn has tensified over time.

Though personal and societal judgement agast transgenr people Iran is - as many untri - persistant and pervasive, the broar ia of beg transgenr is not nsired a vlatn of Iranian theocratic prcipl, and the ernment do not view such dividuals as they do homosexuals. It is clear that the support iated by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomei s ago and the advantage of the clivy of the Persian language provi foundatnal stutnal acceptance of trans cizens Iran, but there are still steps that mt be taken to promote social approval and cultural rporatn of the non-bary Intersectn of Authorized Genr Surgery and Iran’s Homosexual TreatmentWh the approach to both homosexualy and transgenr cizens Iran tablished, a rrelatn between the two to light. Homosexuals phed towards this as a treatment are left wh few optns due to the legal support of hormone treatments, psychotherapy, and full transnal operatns; th, many are faced wh eher endurg the promoted medil approach or fleeg the untry to seek polil asylum a natn wh different legal thorizatn of genr reassignment reprents signifint progrs and support for the transgenr populatn, n also unfortunately be ed agast the already persecuted mographic of homosexuals Iran.

In a story published Tuday, Votiv offers a pellg look at Iran's unrground gay muny through the ey of three of s members: a 25-year-old sgle man who recently had the urage to e out to his parents, and two men their early 30s who are a relatnship, albe a very secretive one.

A RARE GLIMPSE INTO IRAN’S UNRGROUND GAY COMMUNY

But today PLoS Medice me out wh a paper wh a rult which suggts that the anecdot of relatively wispread homosexual behavr the Middle East are not totally unfound or unreprentative (the journalist Hugh Pope has dited that Middle Eastern men have sometim assumed he would naturally be open to sexual proposns bee he was a Wterner. Iran has alleged that a proment sger is gay and unr the Islamic Republic’s anti-homosexual laws he uld face the ath journalist Ali Hamedani tweeted on Sunday that “A famo Iranian sger om the Kurdish provce of Kermanshah has been ‘acced’ of beg a homosexual and uld face executn.

Ali Hamedani (@BBCHamedani) October 6, 2019 Volker Beck, a German Green Party polician and LGBTQ activist, told The Jesalem Post that "It is a perversn of unjt stat like Iran and Sdi Arabia that alleged or actual homosexualy is prented as an accatn that n st you your life. Acrdg to a 2008 Brish WikiLeaks dispatch, Iran’s mullah regime has executed “between 4, 000 and 6, 000 gays and lbians” sce the Islamic Revolutn 2016, The Jesalem Post reported that Iran’s regime had executed a gay adolcent that year – the first nfirmed executn of someone nvicted as a juvenile the Islamic Afshar, 19, was hanged Arak Prison Iran’s Markazi Provce on July 18, 2016, after he was nvicted of “forced male-to-male anal terurse” early 2011, Iran’s regime executed three Iranian men after beg found guilty of charg related to homosexualy. The Islamic Republic of Iran publicly hanged a 31-year-old Iranian man after he was found guilty of charg related to vlatns of Iran’s anti-gay laws, acrdg to the state-ntrolled Iranian Stunts’ News unintified man was hanged on January 10 the southwtern cy of Kazeroon based on crimal vlatns of “lavat-e be onf” – sexual terurse between two men, as well as kidnappg charg, acrdg to ISNA.

“Iran is not only the most dangero threat to Israel’s secury, is also a champn the state murr of actual or perceived homosexuals, ” said Volker Beck, a German Party Green Party polician and a lecturer at the Center for Studi Relig Scienc (CERES) at the Ruhr Universy Bochum. ” The statement about cizens of Kazeroon uld not be penntly 2016, The Jesalem Post reported Iran’s regime had executed a gay adolcent that year – the first nfirmed executn of someone nvicted as a juvenile the Islamic Afshar, 19, was hanged Arak Prison Iran’s Markazi Provce on July 18, 2016, after he was nvicted of “forced male-to-male anal terurse” early 2011, Iran’s regime executed three Iranian men after beg found guilty of charg related to M. "Of urse the motive of such murrs by fay members is to fend the 'honor' of the tribe or fay, but we should never fet the social stigma and hatred nstantly reproduced by the social and legal nstcts agast LGBTQ members, " she this area of the world face enormo dangers for beg openly gay.

1 OUT OF 3 YOUNG IRANIAN MEN "GAY"?

We are still aaid of the regime makg a database of gay and transgenr people and puttg them unr prsure whenever they want, " Shadi Am, an LGBTQ activist based Germany, told ABC ia of receivg an exemptn rd is leavg many gay and trans Iranians worried they'd be brand and vulnerable to harassment and discrimatn. "People hold banners prottg agast discrimatn and persecutn agast homosexuals Iran, July 28, 2007, ont of the Eiffel tower Meda/AFP via Getty Imag, File Mahdi, a 36-year-old Iranian gay man who did not want to e his full name over safety ncerns, told ABC News that hearg the news of Monfared's murr broke his heart.

Ali Fazeli Monfared, a 20-year-old gay Iranian man, was allegedly killed an “honor killg” by some of his male fay members after they found out he was gay, acrdg to an LGBTQ rights group Iran and Monfared, who was known as Alireza by iends and fay, lived a cy southwt Iran.

GAY IRAN: NO PLACE TO CALL HOME

He had applied for an exemptn om pulsory ary service so he uld leave the untry and move to Turkey to live wh his close iend, Aghil Bayat, acrdg to 6Rang, the Iranian Lbian and Transgenr homosexual nduct is crimalized Iran, part of the ary exemptn law allows gay and transgenr people to receive a medil exemptn om service for their inty.

IRAN CHARG FAMO KURDISH SGER WH BEG GAY, FAC EXECUTN

If Fazeli Monfared’s alleged killers had ught him havg sex wh a man, then they might receive lser punishments for his is one of an timated 11 untri where same-sex sexual acts are punishable by ath, acrdg to the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn, and one of almost 70 untri where is crimalized, acrdg to Human Rights Watch, an ternatnal human rights group based New York. "The are moral prcipl regardg the behavr of people general, ” he said at the time, acrdg to German broadster Dtsche are no statistics or rerds of the number of anti-LGBTQ “honor killgs” — which are perpetrated by relativ who feel the LGBTQ person has brought “dishonor” to the fay — that happen Iran or other untri that crimalize homosexualy, Tara Sepehri Far, who vtigat human rights ab Iran and Kuwa for Human Rights Watch, told NBC said Fazeli Monfared’s se highlights the importance of the role of the fay LGBTQ people’s liv when the state crimaliz who they are. “Exposg that to the very same thori who, theory, have the thory to arrt and prosecute you is very risky, ” she said other untri should prsure Iran to remove the law crimalizg homosexualy and the ath penalty “bee this is the reason why the fai, they allow themselv to have the right to vlate their children.

AbstractThe chapter provis empiril sights to how gay/queer Iranian men navigate their liv between different spac—social, virtual, and physil— orr to acmodate their gay inty and sexual sir wh the legal-social and Islamic ntext of morn Iran.

GAY IRANIAN MAN ALLEGEDLY KILLED BY FAY DAYS BEFORE SEEKG ASYLUM

By employg Fouuldian analytic ameworks that attend to qutns of heterotopic spatialy, and njunctn wh Massey’s notn of power geometri and how space is produced, illumat the plexy of queer Iranian men’s spat-temporal mos of socialy relatn to sexual practic and beg gay/queer. It also draws attentn to how spac n be transformed, claimed, and even queered wh the lims set by the domant disurse on genr and this chapter, I employ the term “queer” along wh the inty label “gay, ” as those spac discsed here were equented not only by those who intify as gay but also by bisexual men, men who have sex wh men, lbians, transgenr, and genr-queers, and dividuals who do not ascribe to any inty tegory.

1 This note provis an asssment of the general suatn of persons who are known to be, or are likely known to be, gay men, lbian, bisexual, trans or tersex – that is those who are open, or are likely to be pelled to be open, about their sexual orientatn and/or genr inty or exprsn (SOGIE) – as well as those perceived as such bee of their appearance, attus and/or behavur. Milary exemptn rds, an accepted form of intifitn issued to gay and trans dividuals, directly disclose the persons sexual orientatn or genr inty and may put them at further risk of vlence and discrimatn for ‘outg’ them and / or bee beg gay or trans is classed as a mental illns (see Milary exemptn, Genr reassignment surgery, Threats, harassment and vlence and Treatment by fay members).

‘While this provisn is discrimatory and gradg towards gay, transgenr and other genr non-nformg persons, and treats homosexualy as a form of mental illns or psychopathology spe of clear statements to the ntrary om var psychiatry bodi across the world and the World Health Organizatn, is monly ed by gay, transgenr and genr non-nformg persons Iran to seek an exemptn om pulsory ary service to protect themselv om homophobic and transphobic ab prevalent ary settgs.

GAY IRANIAN MAN AD ALLEGED 'HONOR KILLG,' RIGHTS GROUP SAYS

‘Acrdg to rmatn received om Iranian gay men and reports by human rights groups, seekg exemptn om ary service on the basis of their sexual orientatn or genr inty, gay, transgenr and genr non-nformg dividuals are generally forced to unrgo huiatg and gradg physil and psychologil tts, cludg anal examatns, which amount to torture, as well as terrogatns by officials durg which they are forced to answer timate qutns about their genr and sexualy such as their preferenc for sexual posns.

IRAN PURPORTEDLY EXECUT 2 GAY MEN OVER SODOMY CHARG

12 6Rang stated that the exemptn regulatn ‘… allows gay dividuals to be intified by the police, judicial thori, employers and those rponsible for tnal centr who n simply look at their ary exemptn rds, which functns as one of the few forms of acceptable IDs Iran.

GAY/QUEER SPAC TEHRAN: INTIMACY, SOCIALY, AND RISTANCE

As one example, the former Print of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadezhad, rponse to qutns about “homosexuals” or “gays” the USA most notorly stated “we do not have the hamjensbāz (translated to dience as “homosexuals”) like you have your untry” and that “absolutely such a thg do not exist as a phenomenon” Iran. The aim is to firstly raise awarens that this is the flag of “Sodomians” and puttg gay men and women potential dangers of gettg reported if they are anyway g this sign for social purpos (In Iran a large number of gay people e the flag sign orr to fd each other and socialize). This time, the fai cludg children have participated this event and were holdg signs such as “Two people of the same sex do not make a uple”, “We are the fenrs of prophet Lut” and “homosexualy, the morn barbarism”, as well as tramplg the flag (Halalzaha, 2021).

5 Acrdg to Amnty Internatnal, wrg 2021 followg the murr of Alireza Fazeli Monfared, a gay man, ‘LGBTI people Iran face pervasive discrimatn, live the nstant fear of harassment, arrt and crimal prosecutn, and rema vulnerable to vlence and persecutn based on their real or perceived sexual orientatn and genr inty. ‘The crimalizatn of same-sex nsensual acts legimiz vlence by State actors and private dividuals, cludg the e of torture, beatgs and rape by law enforcement and vigilant… Lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr persons face regular harassment and, if arrted, are nied the right to a fair trial… The acts rema largely unrreported due to the victims’ fear of persecutn.

Mohammadi, who was arrted 2018[footnote 67], was acced of: ‘1- Assembly and lln agast natnal secury to crimalize homosexualy (Normalizg homosexualy), 2- Elimatg the ugls and famy of homosexualy, 3- Makg homosexualy acceptable, pecially llaboratn wh relig and nscience anizatns, 4- Makg the Islamic Republic of Iran rponsible for extensive human rights ab (Lack of regnn of homosexualy). 2 The USSD stated s 2020 human rights report that ‘While few tails were available for specific s, lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and tersex (LGBTI) activists exprsed ncern that the ernment executed LGBTI dividuals unr the pretext of more severe, and possibly spec, crimal charg such as rape. The report noted that the paratively high levels of executns rerd for same-sex sexual acts the years immediately followg the revolutn (144 total between 1979 and 1982[footnote 79]) ‘… may not reprent the actual number of executns, as the Iranian thori ed homosexual and other pal offenc as a ver to execute opponents.

IRAN EXECUT 2 GAY MEN OVER SODOMY CHARG, RIGHTS GROUP SAYS

Once arrted, the Penal Co has a perverse effect of enuragg false accatns of rape: centivis persons alleged to have engaged nsensual acts to “acce their partner of rape to save their [own] liv”… In addn to avoidg the ath penalty, a false rape accatn may also be motivated by a sire to avoid the stigma associated wh beg gay… The Penal Co uld also disurage genue accatns of rape: victims face the risk of beg disbelieved about the ercive nature of the sexual act, which uld rult an executn. ‘6Rang’s field study on the polyclics, stutns and private clics, that have listed unsellg ‎to LGBTI people as one of the areas of their expertise, show that the centr nsir ‎homosexualy to be a disease or sexual viatn, and have ma a bs by allegg ‎their advertisements that they n cure this disease.