| Lgbt Rights In Iran |
Article Index for Lgbt |
Website Links For Rights |
Information AboutLgbt Rights In Iran |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT LGBT RIGHTS IN IRAN | |
| lgbt rights by country | |
| iranian law | |
| sexual orientation and society | |
| lgbt in the middle east | |
|
Since the revolution in 1979 , LGBT rights in Iran are non-existent due to fact that it is a fundamentalist Islamic Republic that sees heterosexuality expressed within a traditional marriage as the only permitted Sexual Orientation . However, Iranian clerics have recently stated that Transgendered suffer from a medical condition and have given approval to Gender Reassignment Surgery and in treating such people as disabled. HISTORY OF LGBT IN IRAN There is a large amount of literature in Persian that explicitly illustrates the old existence of homosexuality among Iranians {Link without Title} . In Persian poetry, references to sexual love can be found in addition to spiritual/religious love. A few Ghazal s (love poems) and texts in Saadi 's both Bustan and Gulistan have been interpreted by western readers as homoerhotic poems. In some poems, Sa'di's beloved is a young man, not a beautiful woman. In this he followed the conventions of traditional Persian poetry. Sa'di's own attitude toward homosexuals was more negative than positive. In the Gulistan he stated, "If a Tatar slays that hermaphrodite / The Tatar must not be slain in return.". Another story tells of the qazi of Hamdan whose affection towards a farrier-boy is condemned by his friends and the king, who eventually says: "Everyone of you who are bearers of your own faults / Ought not to blame others for their defects." {Link without Title} There exist also a misinterpretaion of persian poetry which stems from the distorted translations. In Persian language there exist only one word for "him/his" and "her". While in English translations, the translator has to select one and assign a gender to the word. Author Janet Afary claims that "Classical Persian literature — like the poems of Attar (died 1220), Rumi (d. 1273), Sa’di (d. 1291), Hafez (d. 1389), Jami (d. 1492), and even those of the 20th century Iraj Mirza (d. 1926) — are replete with homoerotic allusions, as well as explicit references to beautiful young boys and to the practice of pederasty." She further states that "professors of literature have been forced to teach that these extraordinarily beautiful gay love poems aren’t really gay at all and that their very explicit references to same-sex love are really all about men and women." She says that the 1979 revolution was partly motivated by moral outrage against the Shah's regime, and in particular against a mock same-sex wedding between two young men with ties to the court, and says that this explains the virulence of the anti-homosexual oppression in Iran. {Link without Title} However Janet Afary who is a political historian of modern-day Iran does not have expertise either in Mystic Persian literature or Iranian culture. She offers no evidence supporting her claims. Up to now, No Iranian literary figures inside or outside of the country, has claimed that Jami, Rumi, Attar or Hafez were gays or discussed homosexuality in their poems. However western readers often thinks Sufi persian poetry is mainly about homosexuality due to their superficial understanding of Persian culture and literature in addition to their own preoccupation with western sexual orientaion and culture. There are many other Iranian homosexual authors who stated similar issues. In one source, the author claims :"The "beloved" in Persian lyrics is, as a rule, not a female, but a young male, often a pubescent or adolescent youth, or a young boy. No sense of shame, no unease, no notion of concern for religious prohibition affects the exuberant descriptions of the male beloved or the passionate love displayed by the poets for him." {Link without Title} Such contradictory statements can be attributed mainly to two issues: 1. the authors ignore the fact that this style of poetry has been for centuries the main style of Iranian poetry, irrespective of sexual orientation of poets. 2. Sexual love and love are almost equivalent in western culture whereas in Iranian culture this is not the case. Religious love, love between a spiritual guide and a follower and love between family members are only a few examples. In sufi poetry and ghazal the main theme is the love story between a human and his or her beloved God who might be described as a beautiful man. The reference to God as a "male" can also be seen in other religions as christianity. According to his most authoritative modern biographer, the Persian scholar Franklin D Lewis, "while Rumi seems slightly out of place in the company of Ginsberg, and seriously misunderstood as a poet of sexual love, it simply defies credulity to find Rumi in the realm of haute couture. But models draped in Donna Karan's new black, charcoal and platinum fall fashions actually flounced down the runway to health guru Deepak Chopra's recent musical versions of Rumi." {Link without Title} Under the rule of the Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , the last monarch of the Pahlavi Dynasty, homosexuality was tolerated, even to the point of allowing news coverage of a same-sex wedding. In the late 1970s some Iranians even began to talk about starting up a gay rights organization, similar to the Gay Liberation movement. In 1970s as well, up until revolution, there were some night clubs which were unofficially (and openly) gay and tolerated. But during Shahs time homosexuality was still taboo everywhere and often one could not turn to family or friends for support and guidance, and there were no public agencies to assist youth or people who were sexually confused or questioning. In 1963 , Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini wrote a book in which he stated that there is no religious restriction on corrective surgery. However, this applied only to Intersexual s, and at the time Khomeini was a radical, anti-Shah revolutionary and his fatwas did not carry any weight with the Imperial government, which did not have any specific policies regarding transgendered individuals. LEGAL STATUS Since the 1979 Iranian revolution, the legal code has been based on a conservative interpretation of Islamic Shari'a law. All sexual relations that occur outside of a traditional, heterosexual marriage (i.e. sodomy, or adultery) are illegal and no legal distinction is made between consensual or non-consensual sexual activity. Homosexual relations that occur between consenting adults in private are a crime and carry a maximum punishment of death, with teenage boys as young as fifteen being eligible for the death penalty ( Mahmoud Asgari And Ayaz Marhoni ). Approved by the Islamic Republic Parliament on 30/7/1991 and finally ratified by the High Expediency Council on 28/11/1991 articles 108 through 140 distinctly talk about homosexuality and its punishments in details {Link without Title} : Male Homosexuality: Sodomy is a crime, for which both partners are punished. The punishment is death if the participants are adults, of sound mind and consenting; the method of execution is for the Shari'a judge to decide. A non-adult who engages in consensual sodomy is subject to a punishment of 74 lashes. (Articles 108 to 113) Sodomy is proved either if a person confesses four times to having committed sodomy or by the testimony of four righteous men. Testimony of women alone or together with a man does not prove sodomy. (Articles 114 to 119). "Tafhiz" (the rubbing of the thighs or buttocks) and the like committed by two men is punished by 100 lashes. On the fourth occasion, the punishment is death. (Articles 121 and 122). If two men "stand naked under one cover without any necessity", both are punished with up to 99 lashes; if a man "kisses another with lust" the punishment is 60 lashes. (Articles 123 and 124). If sodomy, or the lesser crimes referred to above, are proved by confession, and the person concerned repents, the Shari'a judge may request that he be pardoned. If a person who has committed the lesser crimes referred to above repents before the giving of testimony by the witnesses, the punishment is quashed. (Articles 125 and 126). Female Homosexuality: The punishment for female homosexuality involving persons who are mature, of sound mind, and consenting, is 100 lashes. If the act is repeated three times and punishment is enforced each time, the death sentence will apply on the fourth occasion. (Articles 127, 129, 130) The ways of proving lesbianism in court are the same as for male homosexuality. (Article 128) Non-Moslem and Moslem alike are subject to punishment (Article 130) The rules for the quashing of sentences, or for pardoning, are the same as for the lesser male homosexual offences (Articles 132 and 133) Women who "stand naked under one cover without necessity" and are not relatives are punished by up to 100 lashes. (Article 134) APPLICATION OF LAWS There are various reports of the death penalty being applied for homosexual conduct, and as this sentence has often been carried out against dissidents it may be a tool to silent political dissent as much as to oppress homosexuals. According to The Boroumand Foundation there are records of at least 107 executions with charges related to homosexuality between 1979 and 1990.[http://www.abfiran.org/english/memorial-search.php?do_search=Search&charges=1778515990&pagenum=0] According to Amnesty International , at least 5 homosexuals, three gay men and two lesbians were executed in January 1990 , as a result of the Iranian government's policy of calling for the execution of homosexuals. They were publicly beheaded. {Link without Title} In April 1992 , Dr. Ali Mozafarian, a Sunni Muslim leader in the Fars province (Southern Iran), was executed in Shiraz, convicted on charges of espionage, adultery and sodomy. His videotaped confession was broadcast on television in Shiraz and in the streets of Kazerun and Lar . On March, 14 1994 dissident writer Ali Akbar Saidi Sirjani was charged with offences ranging from espionage to homosexual improprieties. On November, 12 1995 , by the verdict of the eighth judicial branch of Hamadan , and the confirmation of the Supreme Court Of Iran , Mehdi Barazandeh, otherwise known as Safa Ali Shah Hamadani, was condemned to death. The judicial authorities announced that Barazandeh's crimes were repeated acts of adultery and "the obscene act of sodomy". The court's decree was carried out by stoning Barazandeh. Barazandeh belonged to the Khaksarieh Sect of Dervishes. (Islamic Republic Newspaper - November 14th 1995 + reported in Homan's magazine June, 10 1996). Another execution was reported in Hamadan by the for having gay sex, adultery, drinking alcohol and drug dealing. youths Mahmoud Asgari And Ayaz Marhoni executed in 2005 reportedly due to the abduction and rape of a minor. In response to criticism from internationla human rights groups, the government stated that two youth were killed for kidnapping and rape, not homosexuality, although several domestic progressive groups doubt the official government position.]] In 2005 , two Iranian teenagers, Mahmoud Asgari And Ayaz Marhoni , were both sentenced to death for what some human rights groups claimed was "consensual gay sex" while Iranian authorities asserted that the two were part of a criminal gang that raped a thirteen year old boy. Again, the government claims were disputed by international organizations and progressive domestic groups {Link without Title} . At the discretion of the Iranian court, fines, prison sentences and public lashing may be used instead of a public exeuction. As the Islamic law covers all aspects of Iranian society and culture, no public discussion of homosexuality is permitted, no Gay Rights organizations are allowed to exist and no political party that supports gay rights will have their candidates on the election ballot. LGBT CIVIL RIGHTS No Civil Rights legislation exists in Iran to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Depictions of homosexuality are prohibited in society or in the press, unless it is negative. No organization or political party is permitted to exist that endorses LGBT human rights. The concept of Sexual Orientation is not recognized in Iran, nor does the Judiciary acknowledge the existence of LGB people and instead believes that all people are normally heterosexual and thus homosexuality is a a violation of the supreme will of God. As a result no laws exist that protect LGBT Iranian from discrimination, harassment or bias-motivated violence, and as a theocratic political system no such laws are permitted to exist. Most Iranian LGBT people remain in the closet about their sexual orientation for fear of being the victim of discrimination, hate crimes, government sanctions, Corporal Punishment s and/or Capital Punishment . The only legal recognition for couples is a legal marriage between one male and one female, both Muslim . The Islamic based legal system prohibits opposite sex couples from associating in public, and Dating is Taboo . Male homosexual couples might be able to pretend that they are just platonic friends, but any type of sexual activity outside of a legal marriage is illegal. Censorship of the literature and of history has been documented, under the rule of both the Pahlavi Dynasty monarchy and the Islamic Republic in Iran. In 2002 , a book entitled Witness Play by Sirous Shamisa was banned from shelves (despite being initially approved) because it said that certain notable Persian writers were homosexuals or bisexuals {Link without Title} . The ''Iranian Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Orgnaization'' (HOMAN) organized a conference on homosexuality in Iran in 2003 and operates a homepage on LGBT issues in the region {Link without Title} . LGBT POLITICS Politics Of Iran went through some degree of moderation in the 1990s as Iranian intellectuals, journalists and students sought greater freedom, especially in areas of speech, academic and the press. In 1997 this "reformist" movement helped to elect the first self-avowed "moderate" President, Mohammad Khatami who promised to improve the conditions for women and to grant more freedom. The extent that this moderate reformist movement will be successful remains in dispute when clerics decide who can run for office and voter turnout is in decline, and when the ultra-conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became the new president in 2005. Yet, it remains clear that LGBT is an cause that remains both prohibited by the ruling clerics and unpopular with even the reformist voters. The Iranian clerics will not allow a political party or organization to endorse LGBT human rights, as even if the clerics were to lose the power to exclude candidates from public office, most experts feel that Iranians tend to be deeply Homophobic and thus would not support such a camapign {Link without Title} . Some left-wing Iranian opposition political movements have express tepid support for - HIV and treating transgender people as disabled, rather then as criminals. In 1998 , the reformist government approved the opening of the first AIDS clinic in the city of Tehran , largely due to the work of two Iranian doctors. The program has thus far focused on prevention and treatment efforts of drug addicts, and the government has agreed to provide free medication to those people that become infected. Eventually, more testing clinics were permitted to open across the country; the government has also allowed the sale of condoms. {Link without Title} . Since 2003 the Iranian clerics have endorsed the idea of treating Transgender people as disabled, as opposed to criminal. Iranians suffering from gender identity disorder can now get a sex change operation and a new identity card. The Iranian military exempts LGBT people military service viewing it as a mental illness, although homosexual conduct or Sodomy would be treated as a serious crime under military or civilian law {Link without Title} . ASYLUM CASES Many middle class Iranians have received an education in a western nation; there is a small population of gay Iranian immigrants that live in western nations. However, most attempts by gay Iranians to seek asylum in a foreign country based on the Iranian government's homophobia have failed. In 2001 , The United Nations High Commissioner For Human Rights rejected a plea from an Iranian man that escaped from an Iranian prison after being convicted and sentenced to death for the crime of homosexuality. {Link without Title} . Part of the problem with this case was that the man had entered the country illegally and was later convicted of killing his boyfriend, after he discovered that he was unfaithful. In 2005 , the Japanese Government rejected an asylum plea from another Iranian gay man. That same year, the Swedish Government also rejected a similar claim by an Iranian gay man, but temporarily halted the man's deportation pending a legal appeal. The Netherlands is also going through a review of its asylum policies in regards to Iranians claming to be victims of the Iranian government's anti-gay policies. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|