Tag: gay iran

Iran: Still hostile to gays

Rouhani’s so-called moderation has changed precious little on the ground for the Islamic Republic’s LGBT community A reformer? Really? The expectation that the election of new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani would curtail persecution of minorities has proved a bitter disappointment for his country’s struggling gay community. Sadly, human rights under the so-called “moderate” Rouhani presidency… Read more »

Comment: With all eyes on anti-gay Russia, there are three countries with a shocking need for coverage

Paul Canning looks critically at media coverage of the LGBT situation in Russia, highlighting other areas around the globe where hate crimes and violence have also soared, yet where media coverage is still minimal. It’s Russia, Russia, Russia when it comes to ‘foreign gay news’ these days. But it’s a much bigger and badder gay… Read more »

Being queer without fear: films on LGBTS from Iran, Pakistan

What must it be like to be a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender in a conservative country? This year, the Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival will highlight the travails of the LGBT community by screening films from countries such as Iran, Pakistan, Serbia and Israel. Still from Noor, a film about the LGBT community… Read more »

Iran, Russia and Egypt threaten to scupper UN women’s declaration due to gay rights opposition

An alliance made up of Iran, Russia and Egypt has threatened to derail a UN declaration urging an end to violence against women and girls by objecting to language concerning LGBT rights and reproduction. Reuters reports delegates to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women are racing to reach a deal on a… Read more »

Report Of The Special Rapporteur On The Situation Of Human Rights In The Islamic Republic Of Iran*

The present report is the second to be submitted to the Human Rights Council, pursuant to Council resolution 16/9, and communicates developments in the human rights situation of the Islamic Republic of Iran that have transpired since the submission of the Special Rapporteur’s second interim report to the 67th session of the General Assembly (A/67/369)… Read more »

Public hanging film to highlight plight of gay Iranians

Trailer released for film based on the true story of two gay teenagers publicly hung in Iran A film based on the shocking true story of an Iranian teenager, hung in public with his partner for being gay aims to highlight the hardships faced by people in Iran. The movie, called Sin – Based On… Read more »

Iran news agency: ‘Jews are spreading homosexuality in a world-takeover bid’

A state-sponsored newspaper in Iran has published a document claiming to have uncovered a secret plot by the Jewish people, particularly in the US and UK, to spread homosexuality worldwide. The document, published by Mashregh news agency, titled “Introduction to the overt and covert aspects of spreading homosexuality in the world,” details the uncovering of… Read more »

‘Outed’ by the Military, Some Gays Fleeing Iran

For at least 15 years, the Islamic Republic has quietly been offering gay Iranians exemptions from mandatory military service. But those exemptions often come with a cost. Five years ago, while speaking in New York, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad infamously declared that there are no homosexuals in his country. But for at least 15 years,… Read more »

Iranian Queers March in Toronto Pride Parade for Those Who Can Not in Iran

A group of Iranian queers in Toronto decided to march in Toronto Pride Parade 2012 (Today, July 1st), to show their existence and promote Iranian Queer Human Rights Cause. Last year, IRQR officially registered the first Iranian contingent at Pride Parade 2011 and won the Best Entry Award of ‘Dream Big’ Theme by Pride Toronto… Read more »

German court tells lesbian asylum seeker to hide identity in Iran

A German court rejected the asylum application of Samira Ghorbani Danesh, an Iranian lesbian refugee who fled Iran in 2009, with the justification that she can hide her homosexuality in Iran and avoid criminal penalties. In a telephone interview on Thursday with PinkNews.co.uk, Katayun Pirdawari, who is a German-Iranian and a member of the Lesbian… Read more »

Iran shuts publisher for ‘promoting’ gay sex and immorality

Iranian authorities have shut a famous publishing house for allegedly promoting ‘homosexuality, incest, and sexual relations between men and women outside marriage’ Iranian authorities announced last Friday, 22 June, that the reason they shut down a prominent publishing house in Tehran was due to its ‘promotion of homosexuality, incest, and sexual relations between men and… Read more »

World marks IDAHO with courage and pride

Activists defy anti-gay laws in Iran and Russia to celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia Activists in Iran, one of the most homophobic countries in the world, braved persecution today (17 May) by publicly unfurling a rainbow flag to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO). Campaigners in the Muslim state’s… Read more »

Anti-gay Eurovision protests intensify in Iran

Homophobic Muslims take to streets of two cities in Iran, furious at rumors of a gay pride event during the Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan Angry homophobes took to the streets of two Iranian cities on Friday (11 May) to protest rumors of a gay pride event during next week’s Eurovision Song Contest in neighboring… Read more »

Four Iranian men due to be hanged for sodomy

Iran court sentence four men from the town of Choram, in the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, to death by hanging for sodomy. Four men named ‘Saadat Arefi’, ‘Vahid Akbari’, ‘Javid Akbari’ and ‘Houshmand Akbari’ are due to be executed shortly after their verdict was approved recently by high court judges, according to a report from… Read more »

LGBT Republic Of Iran: An Online Reality?

A Small Media report revealing how Iran’s LGBT communities use global communications technology in their everyday lives Full text of article available at link here Source – MSM Global Forum

International Day against Homophobia in Iran

May 17th is the international day against homophobia and transphobia. Homophobia and transphobia are social disorders that cause people to act out against homosexuals and transsexuals. LGBT rights activists have done a variety of things to memorialize this day against this disease everywhere around the world. In Iran, because of anti-homosexuality laws and oppressive conditions,… Read more »

Iran believed to have executed a ‘gangster’ for engaging in gay sexual activities

A young man described as a ‘gangster’ who is known only by the initials CH M was hanged publicly in Marwdasht, Fars Province, Iran, for allegedly engaging in ‘sodomy’ with another man. Speaking with the Iranian Fars News Agency, Gholamhossein Chamansara, the Attorney General of Marwdasht, reported that the death penalty was given to the… Read more »

Death for Gays in Iran Creates Underground Railway

Iranian queers have well-founded fears of persecution based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. The Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran, permits the punishment of queer people by lashing, hanging, stoning, cutting in half by a sword, or dropping from a tall building or cliff. My own and IRQR’s experiences in researching… Read more »