IDAHOTB » Iran

IDAHOT 2016 country reports: Iran

Joel Bedos — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 05:11:43 +0000

The Canada based organisation Iranian Queer Organisation IRQO offered slogans for May 17 with an eye on internalized homophobia. This is in-line with the organization’s new undertaking towards LGBTI rights in Iran. IRQO has been exploring and advocating alternative options for the LGBT individuals who are left with no choice but escaping Iran via seeking asylum. More about this will be published on the website, soon.

On May 17, IRQO website’s editor-in-chief, Vafa Mehrayeen, wrote in his article “Internal Homophobia Emerging Out of Social Structures”, how Internal Homophobia hurts the LGBT from within the community. Read more

IDAHOT events 2015: Iran

Joel Bedos — Fri, 15 May 2015 21:26:25 +0000

Justice for Iran (JFI) – 17 May 2015
The newly launched “6 Rang Mould Award“, targeting those who have caused the most offence to lesbian, gay and transgender people in Iran, has its first recipients. This marks the first time in history when individuals in Iran are held accountable for their homophobic acts or comments. Mohammad Javad Larijani, a judiciary official, and Farhang Holakouee, a sociologist, have been announced as the winners.
The Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network (6Rang) called on people to vote on Facebook earlier this month on the worst cases of homophobic attitudes expressed in Iran between 2009 and 2014. From now on, similar vote will be held annually. 6Rang invites people to cast their votes in two categories: representatives of the state and non-state players.
Mohammad Javad Larijani, the President of the Human Rights Council of the Judiciary, has won in the first category. He received the “anti-prize” for saying: “In our society, homosexuality is an illness, a very bad illness.” He added: “Organizing gatherings and publicizing the issue is an offence and we have very strong laws to confront it.”
Farhang Holakouee, a sociologist, has taken the “anti-prize“ for non-state-players by claiming that 60 to 70 percent of gay people were born in the “wrong body “ but can otherwise be regarded as normal, whereas the remaining 20 to 30 per cent became homosexuals for psychological reasons created by their upbringing.
The names of the first recipients have been made public to coincide with the International Day Against Homophobia on 17 May.
The launch of the award is part of the 6Rang campaign to tackle homophobic attitudes in Iran. The country is among the five states in the world (with Mauritania, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen) where people still risk execution for same sex relationships. Lesbian, gay and transgender individuals in Iran find themselves under pressure, exerted through an official discourse and enforced by various laws and policies considering homosexuality as a crime, sin and deviation.
At the same time, trans-sexuality is treated as a legitimate health problem for which the sanctioned cure is sex reassignment surgery.
The nominees for “The 6 Rang Mould Award” included Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former president; Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic; or Mohsen Kadivar, a cleric and reformist politician.
The Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network (6Rang) hopes that this initiative can help to change homophobic culture and raise the level of its sensitivity to the rights of gay and transgender people.
For further information, please contact: info@6rang.org
For the latest detailed report on human rights violations against lesbian, gay and transgender people in Iran, see: http://6rang.org/english/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Pathologizing-Identities-Paralyzing-Bodies.pdf

The Iranian Queer Organization IRQO that is registered in Toronto, Canada, translated the 2015 memes and some of the artwork from previous years to provide posters for Farsi-speaking population. Through that they secure that the messages of IDAHOT can be understood completely and provide Iranian LGBTI access to the artwork.

You can find the memes here.

For IDAHOT, the Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees released the short movie ‘Kids Named Eyzan’.

IDAHOT Report 2014: Iran

IDAHO — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 17:00:42 +0000

Iran

Iranian LGBT and feminist activists commemorated May 17, as a way of promoting freedom of expression for LGBT people, and for all, in Iran. One of the goals of the campaigns was to end hate speech against, and scapegoating of, LGBT communities and women in the media, and to promote free expression for all.

May 17 in Tehran: No homophobia in Persian media!

Lesbian & Gay – Knowledge, Education, Rights, News (LG KERN) coordinated a joint media/journalism campaign among Farsi speaking activists. Around IDAHOT 2014, they aimed to raise awareness about homophobia online, especially via all global Persian websites or media. Activists monitored information on media messages which contains hateful and homophobic messages, and promoted their own campaign images, texts and videos in their place.

Source: LG Kern

A special focus on media in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan

The goal of this action was also to recognize, report and fight against hateful messages and news worldwide, with a special focus on media in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

Source: LG Kern

Feminists organise in Tehran

Also for May 17, 2014, a group of feminists produced and launched an online publication releases in Tehran about heterosexism and sexism.

Flashmob Video

LG KERN also disseminated a flashmob video filmed in Tehran. The video features someone walking through the streets of the Iranian capital, using the rainbow flag as a cape. The video is accompanied by Googoosh’s song “Behesht”, a song she recently dedicated (in 2014) to the fight for equality, regardless of the gender of who we love. Googoosh is a famous Iranian pop star, and the video tells the story of lesbian couple.

To watch the flashmob video, click here

Further Information

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lgkern2
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LGKERN2

May 17 activities in Iran against Homophobia in media

IDAHO — Thu, 15 May 2014 23:08:33 +0000

May 17 in Tehran: No homophobia in Persian media!

Iranian LGBT activists and feminist will be celebrating May 17 in dedication to freedom of expression of LGBT people in Iran. One of the goals of this campaign is to end hate speeches against and scapegoating of LGBTs and women in media and promote free expression for all human rights defenders.
Lesbian & Gay – Knowledge, Education, Rights, News (LG KERN) is welcoming you to join them on May 17. Activists aim to raise awareness against the homophobia web viruses in all global Persian websites or media in dedication to International Day Against Homophobia 2014.

A special focus on media in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan
They launch this action to recognise, report and fight against hateful messages and news with a special focus on Iranian, Afghan and Tajikistan media.
Also on May 17, a group of feminists will do online publication releases in Tehran about heterosexism and sexism.
You can find out more about the organisers here or follow them on Twitter.

Iran IDAHO Report 2013

IDAHO — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:34:47 +0000

Iranian activists behind the facebook group روز ملی اقلیت های جنسی ایرانی‎ (National Day of Iranian Sexual Minorities), created an online photo exhibition, ’to show their solidarity with the world on IDAHO’. Based out of the capital, Tehran, they produced and published the series of 17 photographs on May 17.

An Iranian activist who shared the photos with us advised, “In Iran homosexuality is a crime and the base culture of our people has phobia to all of LGBTs and its hard for us to live a normal life, we have to fight for our rights . taking this photos are too dangerous for us and it could take our life . photos are taken in Tehran – Iran. it happened this morning 17 may.”

Iran IDAHO Report 2012

IDAHO — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 14:34:47 +0000

LGBT rights activists in Iran distributed brochures in the capital Tehran, carried rainbow flags and banners, and released colored balloons in commemoration of this IDAHO 2012.

Meanwhile, the organisation Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees Inc. (IRQR), caring for the Iranian community in Canada, organized an event in Toronto which brought together two Iranian celebrities over the motto ’Iranian Voices against Homophobia’ : Susan Taslimi who is a famous Iranian actress who lives in Sweden now and Kambiz Hosseini who is a famous TV host in Voice of America, Persian desk.

This was the first time ever that Iranian celebrities publicly talked about homosexuality and called homophobia as a social sickness. Kambiz Hosseini even went as far as publicly apologizing for the harm caused by his past homophobic attitudes.

The event was sponsored by Iranian Association at the University of Toronto, Riksteatern (Swedish National Theatre), Swedish International Development Agency and Shahrvand Newspaper.

For more information, access

Pictures of the event

Videos of the event