Gay rights in Iran a complex battle, says Iranian sexual identity expert

Harvard professor warns against pushing for gay rights movement in Iran

By Ashley Fitzpatrick

Harvard professor Afsaneh Najmabadi said Thursday night she wants Canadian and international gay rights groups to be more careful in how they present the situation of homosexuals and transsexuals in Iran. Lecturing at Dalhousie University on “Transing and Transpassing Along Sex-Gender Lines in Contemporary Iran,” Najmabadi presented some conclusions from her most recent research to the nearly two hundred people in attendance.
The state’s cultural stigmatization and restrictive policies have done nothing to end homosexuality in Iran, according to Najmabadi. In actual fact, she said, many homosexuals continue to live their lives simply and quietly while searching for ways to ease the pressures placed on them.
This would appear to contradict an address given at Columbia University by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in September 2007. The address created a surge in English-language media coverage concerning homosexuals in Iran after Ahmadinejad stated through a translator that, “in Iran, we do not have homosexuals -- not like in your country.”   
Yet, according to Najmabadi, Iranian homosexuals are there, they’re just not looking for a social movement. Instead, “most Iranians wish to keep national and international politics out of their daily lives.”
It will be difficult for Iranians to maintain that conservative position however. Activist groups such as the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, HOMAN—the Iranian gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender organization and the Canadian-based Iranian Queer Organization are all seeking changes in Iran that will both openly acknowledge and encourage dialogue between homosexuals and the Iranian leadership.

 

Facing violence and death

During her lecture, Najmabadi referred to the controversial Islamic law that condemns homosexuals to lashings or death for having sex with their same-sex partners but explained that it is nearly impossible to prove, since it requires testimony from five male witnesses.
“I don’t agree,” Iranian-born Arsham Parsi said in a phone interview on Friday. Parsi is executive director of the Iranian Queer Organization- a non-profit focused on helping “Iranian gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered refugees all over the world,” according to the group’s website. Parsi himself came to Canada in 2004 and has been fighting for changes to Iranian capital punishment in cases of homosexuality.
He has heard statements such as Najmabadi’s before.
“Unfortunately, they don’t know that in many of the cases we are dealing with, the police are raiding homes with four or five people.” These officers then act as witnesses and this allows for serious convictions. Parsi also questions the legitimacy of some of this police testimony. “Last May,” said Parsi, “police arrested 85 guys in a private party.”
The biggest problem, said Parsi, is that homosexuality is not discussed. “Two days ago I received news from Iran that a person --  a man -- was arrested and faces execution.” Hoping to help, Parsi contacted the man’s family, “but the family is not interested in talking,” he said.
In 2006, Parsi sent a letter on behalf of the Iranian Queer Organization to the United Nations objecting to the current situation in Iran. Their main interest, Parsi said, is in keeping the government and religious leaders out of Iranian bedrooms, whether they belong to gay or straight couples.
Here Parsi noted that adulterous relationships are also open to severe punishments. The real problem, Parsi said Friday, is that right now “they can execute people on the basis of their sexual relationship.”
 

Language barriers coming down, but no revolution yet

Despite these problems, homosexuals are not looking for a revolution, Najmabadi said Thursday. She explained that it is important for outside activist organizations that call for reforms in Iran to take time to consider what repercussions there might be for Iranians who join an outspoken gay movement. It is also important, she said, that they consider the subtleties of Iranian culture and language. 
In Iran, “I am Gay,” said Najmabadi, “is not the same kind of identity statement.” The English word “gay” is often used by homosexuals in Iran because the Persian equivalents are so heavily negative. An increasing use of these English words does not necessarily signal a desire for an American-style gay movement.
“The foreignness of these words makes it possible to say something about yourself that you cannot say in Persian,” said Najmabadi.
For now, even the most outspoken Iranians will have to fight their battles under-the-radar. And Najmabadi and Parsi both admit that there are no easy answers when it comes to being homosexual in Iran.   
“It’s complicated,” said Parsi, “It’s very, very complicated.”

 

Najmabadi's lecture was given as part of the MacKay Lecture Series which is offered by the Dalhousie Institute of Society and Culture. The lecture series brings in experts from various fields to speak about topics that revolve around a single theme. This year, the focus is on "Identities and Ideologies: Changes and Transformations in the Modern Islamic World."