A national demonstration organized in Rome by the newspaper Il Riformista on the anniversary of the bloody repression of Iranian students on July 9, 1999, reiterated the issue of the lack of freedom in Iran. Arcigay supported the initiative in the name of the complete violation of the rights of gays and lesbians, sentenced to death under Islamic law.
We publish a contribution by Arcigay President Sergio Lo Giudice on the LGBT situation in Iran.
A demonstration of gay Muslims
“Hi, I'm a 26-year-old Iranian gay man. I'm looking for a gay man between 22 and 30. If you'd like, you can email me.” “Hi, I'm a 22-year-old guy looking for a relationship with a man between 25 and 45. I'm not like the other guys here. I'm not looking for a long-term relationship. All I want is to experience soft sex with a student like me.”.
Behzad, 26, and Kiarash, 22, were born and raised in Tehran. They are just two of many gay Iranians who rely on online chats to break out of isolation, find a partner, and connect with the international gay community. Iran, along with Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Mauritania, Sudan, and Afghanistan, is one of the Islamic countries that imposes the death penalty on homosexuals.
“"Homosexuality is a sin in the eyes of God and a crime against society," the Iranian ambassador to The Hague declared as early as 1987, sparking reactions from Dutch LGBT associations. In 1995, at the Beijing Women's Conference, Iran voted to block the inclusion of sexual orientation in the final document and any recognition of homosexuality. At the 2002 UN AIDS Conference in New York, Iranian delegates, along with those from other Arab countries, opposed any recognition of sexual minorities. Even today, the Islamic penal code still carries the death penalty for sodomites, if they are sane, consenting, and adults. A minor can get away with 74 lashes. If there was no penetration, but only petting ("tafhiz"), or if the court can prove only that the two men were "naked under the covers for no reason," even adults are punished with 100 lashes. The same punishment applies to lesbian relations. Repeat offenders, male or female, committing the crime four times will be stoned to death, but if they repent, the crime may even be pardoned. The punishment, it goes without saying, also applies to non-Muslims.
Over time, Amnesty International has managed to gather some data on the implementation of the punishment. In 1990, three gay men and two lesbians were publicly beheaded. In 1992, Sunni leader Ali Mozafarian was executed after being convicted of espionage and sodomy, the same charges leveled against dissident writer Ali Akbar Saidi Sirjani in 1994. In 1995, dervish Mehdi Barazandeh was stoned to death. In 1998, Ali Sharifi was hanged for having had a gay relationship. Sex change for transgender people is legal, but the necessary transition support process is not possible because, until the surgery, one is considered homosexual—that is, a criminal. This places tremendous pressure on transgender people to undergo surgery, especially since in Iran, gay people have always struggled to identify as gay or lesbian.
“This situation in Iran is changing almost everywhere,” writes Niloufar, a thirty-year-old Iranian who emigrated to Belgium, on the gay website theGully.com, “since people have access to the Internet and satellite dishes. People are starting to think they can identify as gay or lesbian and that they might one day be accepted. What's more, LGBT people are starting to accept themselves. A friend who just returned from Iran told me she knows of a gay and lesbian community in Tehran. Hundreds of people socialize in homes or communicate via the Internet. Being able to meet other people you identify as lesbian makes a big difference: when I was there, I thought I was the only Iranian lesbian alive. Men have much more freedom in Iranian society. It's easier for them to meet other gay men. In Tehran, there are meeting places for gay men, but there are no similar places for women. It's easier for lesbians only because their existence isn't even recognized. In Iran,” Niloufar continues, “people are tired of it and don't care.”
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Civil society is very active, perhaps more so than in other Islamic countries. I believe that Iran is slowly moving towards democracy and that an Islamic democracy, like a Christian, Jewish, or any other religious democracy, is an oxymoron. I believe that Iran will have a secular government in the future. It's simply inevitable, even if it will take time.’ Homophobia is also widespread among Iranian emigrant communities. Homan, an LGBT group of Iranians abroad, has existed for over ten years, but it consists of a small number of people, all of whom are not visible, because the fear of coming out to their families is so great. And then you know that you could never return to Iran to visit your relatives. And if your visa expires or you are expelled, the risk you run is the death sentence.