COLUMN: Forbidden love

Every time I walk Foyle Embankment to go over the Peace Bridge, I pass the rainbow crossing.

When I see it I think of my fellow countrymen and women back home in Iran.

When I see two women on a Derry street holding hands it lifts my heart. But I am also very conscious that in Iran such a display of affection would be to risk your life.

In Iran homosexual, bisexual and transgender groups face widespread discrimination. But it wasn’t always so.

Under the judicial system of the Pahlavi era homosexuality was tolerated, to the point of allowing news coverage of a same-sex wedding. Until the revolution, we even had a small number of gay nightclubs.

But that all changed with the revolution when the laws of Islamic Sharia became dominant.

Now when the authorities of the Islamic Republic talk about homosexuals, their tone is of hatred and contempt.

As recently as July 13 the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran described homosexuality as an “ugly phenomenon” and criticised western countries for “attacking the family”.

What is life like for a gay person in Iran?
In Iran a gay person usually hides their identity in order to avoid harassment. Those who are transgender are ridiculed. It has been known for their families to beat or even kill them. Many take their own lives in the face of immense social pressure.
There are families who have accepted their gay children but it is rare. Most struggle constantly with the issue of acceptance or non-acceptance. If it is discovered in the workplace that a person is gay then that individual can expect to be fired. Even in public, among ordinary citizens, those who are LGBT usually face humiliation, judgement and even assault.

In Iran homosexuality is not an identity
Oddly, gender reassignment in Iranian society is promoted and supported.

One of the reasons is that, in the government’s eyes, anyone who questions the definitions of masculinity and femininity should be returned to their “natural definitions”.

The natural definition is that a woman is usually attracted to a man. If she is attracted to a woman, she is out of this definition.

Just as in the definition of a man, the orientation towards a woman is assumed definite. If a man has an orientation towards another man he has messed up the gender boundaries.

So in a bid to prevent the promotion of homosexuality as a way of life, gender reassignment is suggested – a gay man become a woman and a woman a man.

Transgender individuals have officially been recognised by the government since the 1980s. But Iran still considers transgender identity to be a mental disorder and has no laws protecting trans people against stigmatisation or hate crimes.

What options do gay people have?
Not many. They can embrace the usual stereotypes of male and female or they can continue to live as they choose. To do so though is to risk rejection, humiliation and even punishment ranging from flogging to execution.

What is the punishment for homosexuality in Iran?
If two men are found to have had sex one will usually be executed and the other sentenced to 100 lashes. Under Iranian law little difference is made between rape and gay sex.