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

Y, THERE ARE GAY PEOPLE IRAN

Iran is among the few untri the world where gays still risk executn for their sexual orientatn. But Iran's gay muni ... * there are no gays in iran *

MYTH: Beliefs graed Iranian culture manift an ultranservative and aggrsive ernment approach to homosexualy and non-bary genr inty. 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.

AHMADEJAD: NO GAYS, NO OPPRSN OF WOMEN IRAN

It is possible to be gay and live unr a reprsive regime that is always threateng to out you, or worse. But 's a lot like walkg a tightrope: sry and ght wh risks. * there are no gays in iran *

Iranian Treatment of HomosexualsDpe cricism om other natns and human rights anizatns, the Islamic Republic of Iran has mataed s practice of nmng same-sex relatns as illegal and morally rpt. The Iranian Penal Co prohibs all sexual activy outsi of the stutn of marriage, same-sex relatns, and LGBT-related media, wh the ath penalty beg one form of punishment for homosexualy. 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.

Michael Roth, Germany’s Mister of State the Feral Foreign Office at the time, claimed, “No relig, cultural or ethnic tradn jtifi state persecutn, let alone the executn of homosexuals. 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. Psychologil profsnals Iran unsel homosexual dividuals to treat their “sexual viancy, ” and even former print Mahmoud Ahmadejad famoly nied the existence of sexual mori Iran 2007. 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.

WHAT 'S LIKE TO BE GAY IRAN

Iran's print was misreprented by Wtern media when he was quoted sayg there were no gays Iran, and actually meant there were not so many as the Uned Stat, a printial ai said on Wednday. * there are no gays in iran *

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.

Sce nsensual homosexual relatnships are punishable by public executns, the measur also serve a sendary purpose for the Iranian ernment, which is to timidate cizens to not g out. 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.

PRINT MISQUOTED OVER GAYS IRAN: AI

* there are no gays in iran *

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. 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. Wh an tense foc on the necsy of sex-reassignment surgery, the applitn of this operatn as a solutn is often over-extend, and the ncept of genr dysphoria is prumed te of homosexual dividuals.

Both homosexuals and transgenr people are viewed as havg a mental illns, a diagnosis which advot applitn of the genr reassignment operatn, even when do not rrelate wh the dividual’s intifitn. 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. 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.

GAYS IRAN? DISPUTG AHMANIJAD

Mehdi Hamzad is young gay man his early thirti who has recently fished higher tn; he liv Tehran, and has braved g out to his iends, though not to his fay. 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).

'WE DON'T HAVE ANY GAYS IRAN,' IRANIAN PRINT TELLS IVY LEAGUE DIENCE

The suatn wh my iends is the bt, as they are eher homosexuals themselv, or have accepted homosexualy and feel fortable wh me this rpect. 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.

Those who have known about my homosexualy om the begng, and those who learned about later, have approached wh acceptance and support.