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'S PERSECUTN OF GAY MUNY REVEALED
• INSI THE SECRET GAY NEIGHBORHOOD IN TEHRAN, IRAN WHERE PEOPLE ARE RISKG THEIR LIV FOR THEIR EXPRSN
• A RARE GLIMPSE INTO IRAN’S UNRGROUND GAY COMMUNY
• A RD EXEMPTED A GAY MAN OM SERVG IRAN’S ARY. IT MAY HAVE ST HIM HIS LIFE
• GAY IRAN: NO PLACE TO CALL HOME
• IRANIAN GAY/QUEER ACTIVISTS AND ACTIVISM

Y, THERE ARE GAY PEOPLE 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. 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.

WHAT 'S LIKE TO BE GAY IRAN

We spoke to him about what life is like the days for gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenred Iranians, and whether is even possible to live a fulfilled, secure life as a gay person a untry such as Iran:. 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).

There will always be teractns among -workers, people on the street and the bazaar, and gathergs that will have trac of homophobia them, and which will create an unwanted distance between a homosexual and his environment. Wh all the media attentn around this subject (pecially onle, satelle televisn programs, and foreign films and seri), homosexuals make peace wh themselv rather quickly and relatively easily, but there are problems, too. One major problem is the tradnal and relig upbrgg of the society, and the patriarchal state propaganda that alienat homosexuals and acceptance of homosexualy to take a lot of time and energy.

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. In alg wh myself, I have fully accepted my homosexualy, but alg wh the outsi world, wh people and the society, I am always led to circumstanc where I am willgly or unwillgly remd of my homosexualy. 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.

IRAN'S PERSECUTN OF GAY MUNY REVEALED

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. Sometim the tense prsure the homosexual experienc over time ph him on a path where he may lack sufficient strength and patience to ntually evaluate himself and to ratnally manage his relatnships. There is no official dissematn of rmatn for homosexuals and the only way to reach awarens about such issu is dog personal rearch, talkg to other homosexuals, and ocsnally gettg profsnal unselg.

INSI THE SECRET GAY NEIGHBORHOOD IN TEHRAN, IRAN WHERE PEOPLE ARE RISKG THEIR LIV FOR THEIR EXPRSN

When you live for many years wh Iranian homosexuals, you will learn that there is no shortage of prsn, dissatisfactn, psychologil tensn, and even attempted suici among them. At the same time there is more social acceptance and rpect for other mori the untri and most of them there are varyg gre of legal mechanisms for support of homosexuals and observatn of their rights.

It is not necsary for all of to talk or take actn about the rights of Baha’is or homosexuals; but if someone has somethg to say or wish to take a step, we should all support him or her. Sexual teractn between two women is punishable by vast majory of media reports about homosexualy Iran are based on acunts of torment and opprsn om gays and lbians who have fled the untry. 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.

A RARE GLIMPSE INTO IRAN’S UNRGROUND GAY COMMUNY

| (VOCATIV/SUNE ENGEL RASMUSSEN)"The number one threat to gays and lbians Iran is the fay, " agre Hosse Alizah of the Internatnal Gay & Lbian Human Rights Commissn (IGLHRC), and himself an Iranian.

A RD EXEMPTED A GAY MAN OM SERVG IRAN’S ARY. IT MAY HAVE ST HIM HIS LIFE

"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.

The park is also one of the most popular pickup spots for Tehran's gay dk, Maseratis, BMWs and the ocsnal Porsche circle the park; you don't have to wa long to spot one of them slow to a halt and pick up a sgle man cisg the g. It also provis a temptg e, for gays and straights alike, an enomy bet by flatn and though the typ of -person enunters are a way to elu virtual spi, they are still ght wh risk.

GAY IRAN: NO PLACE TO CALL HOME

He was jt strangled to ath, " says Saeed, who has bee more ut about meetg up wh strangers bee of siar 's parks are always crowd, and particularly around dk, many of them bee popular cisg spots for gay men. 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.

"I thk she tri to not watch the clip so she always chang the channel or pretends that she don't watch the TV, " he of the stigma agast homosexuals is trsic to the Persian language, which has two different words for homosexualy. 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. If a man n get a doctor to ttify he is gay, he will be exempt om ary, the small ncsns hardly amount to any sort of tangible eedom for Iran's gays, many of whom ntue to fight their own sexualy.

IRANIAN GAY/QUEER ACTIVISTS AND ACTIVISM

The liftyl of gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr people Iran are prehensively and systematilly nied by the Islamic regime, which expos them to horrific punishment, bullyg and risk of suici, a study has first tailed report on Iran's LGBT muny has found that s members live unr social and state reprsn, wh some beg persecuted, forced to exile or even sentenced to study was nducted by Small Media, a non-prof group based London. "In a speech at Columbia Universy New York 2007, Print Mahmoud Ahmadejad said: "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like you do your untry … In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon. Punishment for mosahegheh (lbianism) is 100 lash for all dividuals volved but n lead to the ath penalty if the act is repeated four the ttimoni gathered by Robertson and her team was that of a 27-year-old gay man om Qazv the north-wt of Iran.

"In September last year, three men om the south-wtern cy of Ahvaz, the pal of Iran's Khuztan provce, were reported to have been executed after beg found guilty of charg related to homosexualy. Parents have forced their homosexual children to have sex-change operatns, lol psychologists and psychiatrists who still em homosexualy as a mental illns have prcribed also exists wh the regime wh officials often nfg nsensual terurse wh s when an executn volvg sodomy charg is reported, 's difficult to fd out whether the nvicts were engaged nsensual sex or whether 's been a rape of the ntradictns surroundg LGBT life Iran, is that homosexuals are granted ary exemptn on the basis that they are mentally ill which will prevent them om dog official report acknowledg that crimalisatn of homosexualy would not necsarily mean an end to LGBT discrimatn. Male to female transsexual, 26 years old, om Lortan In my life I've tsted very few people, pecially when to my sexual inty, and those whom I've tsted have generally been homosexual too … In orr to tst people, I need transparency and honty more than I need time.