‘She could be my sister’: Iranian activists on why Mahsa Amini protests are an LGBTQ+ fight too
One year ago, Iranās āmorality policeā detained and beat 22-year old Mahsa Amini for allegedly not wearing a headscarf properly. Her death led to the largest wave of popular unrest in years.
Amini, a young Iranian-Kurdish woman, died on 16 September 2022 after being beaten by authorities just three days earlier for allegedly violating Iranās strict dress code for women by wearing an āimproper head coveringā.
The queer voices of Iran were at the forefront of protests as LGBTQ+ couples bravely kissed in public, held up rainbow flags and joined crowds to wave placards reading āQueer, Life, Freedomā.
The uprising wasnāt an isolated event. It was part of a long history of Iranian people struggling for their rights and dignity, especially women, LGBTQ+ people and other marginalised groups.Ā
Shadi Amin, the executive director of Germany-based Iranian LGBTQ+ network 6rang (Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network), grew up in Iran thinking she was āsickā because sheās queer.
Itās been āpainfulā to endure the hatred for her activism and being vocal, but she believes she could ācontinue for more than 25 yearsā fighting for Iranās LGBTQ+ community.
So seeing the Mahsa Amini uprising last year was āreally interestingā for Amin because it was looking at the āfruitsā of other activists’ work in the ālast 10-12 yearsā to highlight the shared struggles of LGBTQ+ people, women, ethnic minorities and other marginalised groups under the Islamic Republic of Iranās oppressive regime.Ā
ā[LGBTQ+ people] are one of the most active and involved groups in these demonstrations and protests last year ā¦ We saw everywhere when there was a demonstration [there was] the rainbow flag, even if sometimes the people didnāt agree with that and they said go back,ā Amin tells PinkNews.
āThey tried to put us out of the demonstration, but I think our LGBTI youth community is really powerful and they try to bring their demands in this movement.ā
Straight and LGBTQ+ people risked execution for their vision of a post-Islamic Republic Iran
Over 22,000 people were arrested and hundreds killed, including some who were executed by the state attempting to crush dissent through violence.
But the flames of freedom refused to die down. Oscar-winning actors, political leaders and women and girls worldwideĀ publicly cut their hair to protest Aminiās death.Ā
A report by 6Rang, based on research and testimonies of 70 LGBTQ+ people who participated in the protests, unveiled horrific accounts of persecution and harassment based on the sexual orientation and gender identity of protestors.
Queer protestors suffered extreme violence, verbal harassment, prosecution by authorities and sexual and physical abuse.
Iran criminalises same-sex sexual activity with a maximum punishment of death, and the law is actively enforced. LGBTQ+ people are subject to violence, discrimination, social rejection, arrest and harassment.
Amin doesnāt want young queer people to have the āsame experienceā she did. She knows they ādeserve a better lifeā.
They say young people, regardless of their sexuality or gender identity, are killed in Iran ābecause they want freedomā.
So itās important to recognise that theĀ āWoman, Life, Freedomā movement ā the slogan that has its roots in the Kurdish womenās freedom movement and became a rallying cry during the Iranian protests in response to Mahsa Aminiās death ā also includes LGBTQ+ people.Ā
āSo long as we have a group of people ā it doesnāt matter if they are five, theyāre 500, theyāre 5,000 or five million, which I think there are more than eight million in Iran ā who are challenging their gender identity and sexual orientation, including their families,ā Amin says.Ā
āIn Iran, it [being LGBTQ+] is hidden. They cannot come out in public. So thatās why a lot of people say itās not the time for that, and the government uses this argument and says the āWomen, Life, Freedomā movement is a movement for freedom of homosexuality and immorality.
āThey try to use the taboos in society to make their hate propaganda against the movement and against the LGBT people.
āI think exactly now is the time that we say, āWe have learned a lot from the last revolution, the past revolutions, and we donāt want to repeat it and this time for LGBT.āā
Mahsa Amini ācould be my sisterā
Arsham Parsi, who is the founder and executive director at the International Railroad for Queer Refugees, says Aminiās death struck a chord with so many people because she represented so many intersections of society.
āEvery day, people are being arrested and killed,ā Parsi says.
āSometimes it could be, āOh, have you heard about that person? Oh, itās sad.ā Because when you see something over and over, it becomes normal for you.
āIn the last several years, we have had more social movements, and people were trying to speak out.
āMahsa Amini was kind of a slap in the face to a lot of people, and they said enough is enough.
āIt was very important to LGBT rights as the LGBT movement ā we have different movements in Iran, and Mahsa Amini, a lot of people identified with it.
āIt makes a nationwide movement because of a couple of reasons. Mahsa Amini had several things at the same time.
āShe was Kurdish-Iranian so she was part of a minority. So she could get [the] backing of a lot of minorities ā¦ She was a woman, and a lot of women’s movements tried to support it.Ā
āShe was young. She was different. She was not religious.
āSo a lot of people identified that she could be my sister, she could be my daughter, she could be my cousin.ā
Parsi, who fled Iran in exile and now lives in Canada, says itās crucial that people continue to talk about the movement in Iran and ākeep things alive for LGBT rightsā because silence hides āevery single inhuman actionā.Ā
āWe need these alarms that [highlight] whatās going on, whatās happening,ā he says.
āWe have to keep it alive.Ā If we let it go, the regime lets it go, the media lets go and itās gonna be a dead issue.ā
The LGBTQ+ Iranian activist explains that people worldwide can āoffer their helpā by doing small things, using their abilities and donating their time to raise awareness on the situation in the Middle Eastern country.
Parsi says it could be as easy as changing the design on a campaign website if someone works as a computer designer, talking to LGBTQ+ refugees if someone has a background in psychology or posting reputable information about whatās happening in Iran on social media to keep it in the news.
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