The struggle for gay rights in a country with no gays.

Monday, 08. 17. 2009  –  By Dana Gallagher  –  2 Comments

Strong Voices Emerging in the Struggle for Gay Rights in Iran

Gay rights in Iran were thrust into the attention of the Western world back in July 2005, when two teenagers named Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni where publicly hanged in Edalat (Justice) Square in Mashad. The circumstances surrounding this horrific execution are still under debate, but many human rights groups have come to the conclusion that these boys were sentenced to death for consensual gay sex.

Then in September of 2007, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated that "we don't have homosexuals, like in your country" while addressing Columbia University. His claim was not only ridiculous, it was also chilling. If the very existence of homosexuals in Iran is denied, how can they ever be afforded the rights of a human being?

The level of harassment and surveillance to which Iranian homosexuals are subjected has made advocacy exceedingly difficult. Fearing for their lives, many people within the movement prefer to remain anonymous. One exception is Mani Zaniar, is an Iranian gay activist who was featured in “Out in Iran,” a documentary produced by CBC, Canada's national public broadcaster. Although the film can be viewed online, we have been asked not to show Mani’s picture due to accelerated security threats.

After the documentary broadcast in March 2007, Mani Zaniar was confronted by the authorities and had no choice but to leave Iran.  He is now the Executive Director of the Iranian Homosexual Human Rights Council, http://iranhomounion.net/.

Also featured in “Out in Iran,” and the current Communications Coordinator of the Iranian Homosexual Human Rights Council, is Arsham Parsi. A prominent Iranian gay activist, Arshad is the founder of the Iranian Queer Railroad (IRQR), an organization dedicated to providing aid to LGBT Iranians who are forced to leave their country, just as he was.

Arsham Parsi

His website, www.arshamparsi.net, recounts a story in which he was recognized in the street and slapped by a man who took offense to his views. They talked for two hours, and now the two men are friends. With patience and the willingness to educate, even if that meant getting slapped in the face, he was able to change the perspective of a homophobic man. We should all show such nerve, levelheadedness, and compassion in our own day-to-day battles for human rights.

Dana Gallagher is a New York-based activist with a passion for gender equality and reproductive rights. Much of her work has been based at Planned Parenthood of New York City as a member of the Activist Council, and has included event planning, organizing clinic escort programs, and community outreach.

Moderator's note: a couple of days before this piece was posted Arsham contacted his supporters to ask for their support for an Iranian asylum seeker who has recently fled to Switzerland. The man is broke and has fled Qom, the cleric center of Iran and one of the most rigid places in the world. He was forced to flee after a neighbor of his spied on him having sex in his own home. Please click here to find out more about the story and to offer some financial support.

The Stoning of Soraya M. and Pride week share message

Monday, 06. 29. 2009  –  By Dana Gallagher  –  13 Comments

Barbarians United

Dana Gallagher

The theatrical release of The Stoning of Soraya M. coincided with the culmination of Pride week. These events happened separately, mostly attended by separate circles. Many people who attended one had little or no knowledge of the other. Yet those who were drawn to the film and those who were drawn to the Pride festivities have an extraordinary amount in common. Each are driven by the same desire for dignity, the same need to be seen and be heard, the same wish to take their place as equal human beings in this world. Very often they even struggle against the same oppressors. Yet all too often each struggles separately, in isolation. How much stronger might we all be if we fought together?

Despite the progress that has been made, the LGBT community is facing enormous challenges. According to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, homophobic killings in the United States are at their highest since the turn of the century. For the past two years the National Day of Silence, an event designed “to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools,” was met with a boycott organized by the NotOurKids coalition, comprised of over 20 conservative religious groups. Linda Harvey, a spokeswoman for the coalition, told World Net Daily that “We need to be very, very concerned about the harm, for our own children and all of these children. We are creating barbarians. Parents want something other than barbarians living down the street.”

Barbarian. Whore. Queer. Adultress. Fag. Bitch. Slurs and insults often plant the seeds that later sow violence, even death. Two boys already this year, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover and Jaheem Herrera, both 11 years old, killed themselves after suffering harassment at the hand of their classmates. Neither found any support or protection from the adults and authority figures that surrounded them.

Soraya was a grown woman whose life was taken from her. Yet the tragedies that befell those boys here in America and that woman in Iran are not so different. Like them, Soraya became a target for punishment not for anything that she had done, but because of what she was. Like them, her demise began with whispers, and then shouts, of slander and accusation. You are a whore. You are a fag. You are an abomination before God. Like them, she was powerless to defend herself. Like them, she was failed by those around her who did have power and authority. Like them, her life met a horrible and senseless end.

Again, Soraya’s life was taken from her-I do not mean to set aside that fact. My point here is that Soraya M. was unable to defend herself because the culture in which she lived did not afford her full rights as a human being. There isn’t a single member of the LBGT community who doesn’t know what that feels like. When the discrimination of any particular group is tolerated in a culture, the underlying message is that they have been found guilty. Guilty of being a woman, guilty of being gay-guilty, in short, of existing.

But we are not guilty. We are born, all of us, innocent, and we have a right to be here and to live to the fullest of our human potential. Everyone who went to see The Stoning of Soraya M. understands that. Everyone who went to march in Pride celebrations understands that. My hope is that the understanding of each group might grow and extend until we form a stronger, more cohesive whole.

I believe that moving forward, much of the success of the civil rights movements will depend on our ability to recognize and honor our common fight. We did not choose to live among people who do not always see us, do not always welcome us. But we can see each other, welcome each other, and when necessary, defend each other. Barbarians united-what will the neighbors say?

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