Iranian Gay/Queer Activists and Activism | SprgerLk

Contents:

• Y, THERE ARE GAY PEOPLE IRAN
• INSI THE SECRET GAY NEIGHBORHOOD IN TEHRAN, IRAN WHERE PEOPLE ARE RISKG THEIR LIV FOR THEIR EXPRSN
• WHAT 'S LIKE TO BE GAY IRAN
• A RARE GLIMPSE INTO IRAN’S UNRGROUND GAY COMMUNY
• PRI IS A PROTT: THE STGGLE FOR GAY RIGHTS IRAN
• IRAN'S PERSECUTN OF GAY MUNY REVEALED
• GAY MEN IN IRAN STGGLE TO SURVIVE
• GAY IRAN: NO PLACE TO CALL HOME
• A RD EXEMPTED A GAY MAN OM SERVG IRAN’S ARY. IT MAY HAVE ST HIM HIS LIFE
• GUI GAY L'IRAN
• IRANIAN GAY/QUEER ACTIVISTS AND ACTIVISM
• GAY IRANIAN MAN AD ALLEGED 'HONOR KILLG,' RIGHTS GROUP SAYS
• UGANDA'S LGBTQ MUNY IS ' SHOCK' OVER NEW MEASURE, GAY ACTIVIST SAYS
• ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL

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. 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.

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

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.

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. 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. 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.

WHAT 'S LIKE TO BE GAY IRAN

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.

All of this culmat to make Iran one of the most discrimatory untri toward homosexuals the world, wh Iran havg executed an timated 4, 000 to 6, 000 homosexual dividuals sce the 1979 Islamic Revolutn. 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.

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. Most relig lears only accept those non-bary dividuals who fully plete the transn operatn, while those who do not are perceived as “sick” and n still be arrted for cross-drsg and other stereotypilly homosexual practic. Dpe formal support of transgenr people by the ernment, dividuals are still faced wh discrimatn and persecutn by private cizens and dividuals their personal liv, an experience siar to that of homosexuals Iran.

A RARE GLIMPSE INTO IRAN’S UNRGROUND GAY COMMUNY

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. Some folks might qutn the necsy for a space specifilly for gay men, but is clear om the recent sentencg of two Iranian activists that there is still a lot of ntempt for anyone who is not straight and/or cisgenr.

Iranian thor of "There Are No Homosexuals Iran", Lrence Rasti, told Dazed magaze, “Sce the revolutn 1979, homosexualy is nsired as a crime based on the Iranian penal and lots of homosexuals have been executed sce. ”He also said that Pahlavi Park, now known as Danhjoo Park “has historilly been the most well-known gay area of Tehran, ” but wh the ventn of datg apps, he noted that the younger crowd of gay men tend not the e the “tradnal methods” of seekg “hiouts.

Three days later, she died om a reason that Ami was arrted was bee she vlated Iran’s hijab law, which forc all women to wear folks Iran face severe legal punishment, even ath, if they are ught the act of “homosexual behavr”.

PRI IS A PROTT: THE STGGLE FOR GAY RIGHTS IRAN

”Beg gay is also nsired a “psychologil disease Iran, and the ary's ary board n exempt a gay man om service if they are emed homosexual after an examatn, " Jasm Ramsey, the munitns director for the Center for Human Rights Iran, told Insir. 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.

IRAN'S PERSECUTN OF GAY MUNY REVEALED

| (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. "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.

GAY MEN IN IRAN STGGLE TO SURVIVE

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

GAY IRAN: NO PLACE TO CALL HOME

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. In April this year, unr the learship of the so-lled “morate” Print Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s moraly police raid a party the cy of Isfahan for no reason other than the fact that the majory of the guts were allegedly gay men between the ag of 16 and 30.

In 1991, s reply to quiri ma by a UN special reprentative, the Iranian ernment stated that, “acrdg to the Sharia law, homosexuals who nfs to their acts and sist on [their homosexualy] are nmned to ath. In June 2016, followg the grisly Orlando shootgs at Pulse, a gay nightclub, the Washgton Post published a report on the world’s top ten untri where homosexualy is punishable by ath; Iran was send on the list after Yemen.

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

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. CHRI —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.

The send mentary is by an Iranian-Amerin therapist, Payam Ghassemlou, who offers his sights on tryg to blend his personal feelgs wh diverse cultur: gay-straight, Middle East-Wtern, Mlim-Christian. But like the trooper he is, he’s meetg ath wh that same clary and fearlsns he’d shown when he (a published gay liberatnist) had temporarily returned to Iran spe of the fundamentalists’ threats—to vis his dyg grandmother.

Fally, on Friday nights after droppg off their so-lled girliends or fishg takg re of whatever they need to do to keep their fai’ approval, they are off to some anonymo gay cisg place to experience their homoerotic feelgs. It mt be a paful awakeng one’s forti or fifti to realize that one has gone through life wh a false inty and the clost he or she ever got to experiencg gay love was a few anonymo sexual enunters. The 20-year-old Iranian had hoped to pe the untry, where he felt stifled by the Iranian regime’s rtrictns on homosexualy, and had dreams of molg or beg a make-up artist, his partner Aghil Abiat told CNN.

GUI GAY L'IRAN

But on May 4, Fazeli-Monfared was killed, possibly after his extend fay disvered that he was gay through a ary service exemptn rd that arrived the mail, acrdg to Abiat and the Iranian LGBTQ anizatn 6Rang.

The most obv one is by law but there is also a lot of homophobia society pendg on where you are and which mographic you belong to … the fay n sometim be the most dangero place, ” Tara Sepehri Far, Iran rearcher at HRW. Its aim was to elimate homophobia and crease LGBT her ethnographic study on lbian activists New Delhi, Dave theoriz activism as an ethil practice, argug that activism “reli on s own nstant terrogatn and how moments of closure are the impet to new kds of prevly unthkable emergenc” (Dave 2011, p.

IRANIAN GAY/QUEER ACTIVISTS AND ACTIVISM

It was then, the 1990s, that gay Iranian activists reclaimed the word through Persian Gay and Lbian Organizatn (now named The Iranian Queer Organizatn) was found 2006 by the human rights/queer activist Arsham Parsi. However, here needs to be noted that reprsive measur affected everybody durg Ahmadejad’s princy, not only those who intified as gay or lbian, although some of them might have experienced some further repercsns.

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

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. 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. ”Fazeli Monfared received an exemptn rd the mail om the Islamic Revolutnary Guard Corps after disclosg his homosexualy, but one of his male relativ found and disvered he was gay, acrdg to 6Rang.

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. One such anizatn, OutRight Actn Internatnal (formerly the Internatnal Gay and Lbian Human Rights Commissn), nvened three terrelated experts on October 13 to discs some of the theologil, legal and social issu facg LGBT-intified people livg Iran.

UGANDA'S LGBTQ MUNY IS ' SHOCK' OVER NEW MEASURE, GAY ACTIVIST SAYS

KAMPALA, Uganda — Members of Uganda’s LGBTQ muny are shock and fear beg arrted after Parliament passed a measure that would make a crime to intify as gay and impose tough sentenc that clu the ath penalty certa s, an activist said “Anti-Homosexualy Bill, 2023” was passed wh a near-unanimo majory by lawmakers  the east Ain untry, where anti-gay sentiment ns ep. Ronald Kabuubi / APThe legislatn will next be sent to Print Yoweri Meveni, who has repeatedly nounced homosexualy, to be signed to Mugisha, one of a few Ugandans who live openly as gay, told Rters he was sred the measure would trigger “mass arrts of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer persons and mob vlence toward LGBTQ muni.

There’s gog to be a lot of trma and s of mental health that will lead to a lot of suici, ” he relatns were already illegal Uganda, but supporters of the new law say is need to punish a broar array of LGBTQ activi, which they say threaten tradnal valu the nservative and relig East Ain measure clus steep sentenc that clu ath for “aggravated homosexualy” and life prison for same-sex relatns. Vcent, anal sex is punishable by up to 10 years prison, while “gross cency” wh another person of the same sex is punishable by up to five years, acrdg to lonial-era laws that are mon the socially nservative Caribbean rarely voked, the rights group and a lol activist said the laws help legimize hostily and abe agast gay people.

ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL

”Human Rights Watch terviewed more than 20 members of the island’s LGBTQ muny who shared their stori but were not intified to protect them, notg that lol police are often openly discrimatory toward gay people who seek help. Several reported that their fai are homophobic and physilly and verbally abed them, g them to bee homels and promptg some to nsir also stggle to fd jobs amid a high unemployment rate and said they face discrimatn, cludg a 19-year-old gay man who said he has rorted to beggg: “Sometim I am so hungry.