Pri is a Prott: The Stggle for Gay Rights Iran – NIAC

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• PRI IS A PROTT: THE STGGLE FOR GAY RIGHTS IRAN

PRI IS A PROTT: THE STGGLE FOR GAY RIGHTS IRAN

Augt 26, 2021—In a new LGBTQ Fact Sheet published today by the Center for Human Rights Iran (CHRI), the extreme rights vlatns and adly vlence perpetrated by both the state and society agast the LGBTQ muny (lbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer) Iran are highlighted a ncise, accsible format for rearchers, journalists, and policymakers. Homosexualy⚢✖ Illegal (ath penalty as punishment)Censorship✖ Other punishmentChangg Genr✖ Legal, but requir surgeryNon-bary genr regnn✖ Not legally regnizedDiscrimatn✖ No protectnsEmployment Discrimatn✖ No protectnsHog Discrimatn✖ No protectnsDonatg Blood✖ Banned (fe ferral)Conversn Therapy✖ Not banned. UnregnizedUnr the Shah's le, the last monarch of the Pahlavi dynasty, homosexualy was crimalised, though was mostly tolerated even to the pot of allowg news verage of a mock same-sex weddg between two men.

Human RightsIran mt immediately stay the executns of two women sentenced to ath for supportg the human rights of lbian, gay, bisexual, trans and genr-diverse (LGBT) people, a large group of UN-appoted pennt human rights experts said on Wednday. The Hengaw Organizatn for Human Rights reported that they were acced of promotg homosexualy, promotg Christiany and munitg wh media opposed to the Islamic 's judiciary later nfirmed the sentenc, but said they were nnected to human traffickg and not activism.

It ced her as sayg that she was forcibly disappeared for 53 days, durg which an IRGC agent allegedly subjected her to "tense terrogatns acpanied by verbal abe" and "threatened to execute or otherwise harm her and take away the ctody of her two young children" January, Seddiqi Hamedani was brought before a prosecutor Urmia, the largt cy Wt Azerbaijan, and told that she was acced of "spreadg rptn on Earth", cludg through promotg homosexualy, munitg wh hostile media and promotg Christiany, acrdg to group said the first two accatns stemmed om her public fence of LGBT rights on social media and her appearance a May 2021 BBC documentary about ab that LGBT people were sufferg Iraq's semi-tonomo Kurdistan Regn, where she had been Iranian law, same-sex sexual nduct is a crimal offence, wh punishments rangg om floggg to the ath penalty. Ugandan Print Yoweri Meveni signed a law May makg "aggravated homosexualy" a pal offense and same-sex relatns punishable by life prison, triggerg outrage among human rights groups, the Uned Natns, LGBT activists, and Wtern powers. Iranian Print Ebrahim Raisi on Wednday lnched to a nmnatn of Wtern attus on homosexualy durg a vis to Uganda which has jt troduced some of the harsht anti-gay laws the, on a missn to strengthen ti wh the first trip by an Iranian lear to Ai 11 years, lled out the Wt at a prs nference wh Print Yoweri Meveni after talks wh the veteran Ugandan lear.

Meveni signed the bill to law on May 29, triggerg outrage among human rights groups, the Uned Natns and LGBTQ activists as well as Wtern new law mak "aggravated homosexualy" a pal offence and penalti for nsensual same-sex relatns of up to life told the prs nference the Wt was "actg agast herance and culture of natns" Iranian lear also offered Meveni support for the major project to build a domtic oil refery and pipele that has been opposed by environmental groups and faced legal actn France and cricism the European said Tehran was ready to share s oil dtry experience, while the Wt was "not generally terted to see untri who enjoy great rourc and natnal rerv to be pennt" vis as the Islamic Republic tri to shore up diplomatic support to ease s ternatnal isolatn, wh Raisi due to travel to Zimbabwe on had met Kenyan Print William Ruto early Wednday Nairobi, scribg his vis to the East Ain powerhoe as "a turng pot the velopment of relatns" between the two then flew to the Ugandan cy of Entebbe, where he was weled wh a gun salute and ary para, public broadster UBC is due to meet wh his Zimbabwean unterpart Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday. Navid, a 42-year-old gay man who owned a fé outsi Tehran, told Human Rights Watch about an attack he suffered 2007 at the hands of two placloth agents whom he later disvered were members of the lol basij. Dpe Print Ahmadejad's 2007 claratn that Iran has no homosexuals, thoands of Iranians intify themselv as LGBT and socialize public and private, and ntribute to vibrant and fiant LGBT muni the Persian-language blogosphere.

Gay Iranians also face the prsure to change their sex, even if they are cis-genred, wh the jtifitn that their same-sex sir is not bee they are gay, but bee they are born a non-nformg stature (Jam, 2019).

In ncln, the 1985 cree by the supreme lear ntribut to a system where heteronormativy is perpetuated as the ial which prsur trans dividuals and gay persons to unrgo surgil measur orr to atta basic human rights and legal regnn. Iranian Print Ebrahim Raisi on Wednday lnched to a nmnatn of Wtern attus on homosexualy durg a vis to Uganda which has jt troduced some of the harsht anti-gay laws the, on a missn to strengthen ti wh the first trip by an Iranian lear to Ai 11 years, lled out the Wt at a prs nference wh Print Yoweri Meveni after talks wh the veteran Ugandan Iran's print to vis Uganda, Kenya and Zimbabwe"The Wt today is tryg to promote the ia of homosexualy and by promotg homosexualy they are tryg to end the generatn of human begs, " Raisi announced. Meveni signed the bill to law on May 29, triggerg outrage among human rights groups, the Uned Natns and LGBTQ activists as well as Wtern new law mak "aggravated homosexualy" a pal offence and penalti for nsensual same-sex relatns of up to life prison.

While many untri now memorate Pri and ntue to evolve their treatment of the LGBTQ+ muny, Iran is a untry that still matas s dranian laws agast homosexualy, crimaliz, and sometim even ni, the existence of gay Iranians.

Last year durg Pri month, when Iran’s Foreign Mister—Javad Zarif—was nonted about his untry’s reprehensible policy of executn for homosexualy, Zarif lloly rpond, “Our society has moral prcipl, and acrdg to the prcipl we live. 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. Zarif argued that the moral prcipl that gui Iranian ernance nmn homosexual behavr jt as they nmn other personal actns and life choic; therefore punishment for such choic, cludg punishment by executn, is lawful and substantiated.

Ambassador to Germany at the time of Zarif’s remarks, joed Roth his opposn to the treatment and argued that the executns go agast the UN Universal Declaratn of Human Rights, which clearly tails crimalizatn of homosexualy as a 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.

Moreover, enforcement of this law is ongog, and occurs perdilly wh very publicized exampl, as January 2019, when a 31-year-old man was publicly hanged after beg nvicted guilty of homosexual relatns. Genr Assignment IranGiven the severe and dranian ernment polici towards homosexualy Iran, is perhaps suprisg that genr reassignment and the existence of of transgenr dividuals Iran is legally supported.