Bahar Forouzandeh, a new Soulbird, submitted this article to us. If you are interested in contributing to Soulbird’s Projects Blog, please contact us for more information. We’re looking for articles, eye-witness accounts, photos, videos, and anything else that will contribute to our cause.
Make Art, Not War: Iran’s Gay Movement
By Bahar Forouzandeh
I fundamentally oppose the use of war. War signals the failure of diplomacy ultimately due to the erroneous belief that we are all separate – whether by gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, or even sexual orientation. As human beings, our individual and even nationalistic gains always come at a cost. If a nation makes a gain at the expense of another nation or group, there will always be a negative repercussion.
Silenced by War
Although the failure of today’s political systems are disappointing, I cannot shy away from the fact that I also play a role as a citizen of the world. Unfortunately, I happen to belong to a group of idealists silenced by fear – a fear that our opposition will empower those who would use our dissent to achieve their own political gains. When we stand up against any act of oppression, we are also standing up against the responsible party. When we stand up against any government, invariably, we stand alongside its opponents – even when we do not share the same motives or ideals. Our fear forces us to remain silent in the face of political games – oftentimes we neglect raising our voices against many of today’s travesties because we are afraid that our voices will join the tremendous noise of the war cries being transmitted throughout the world.
A New Generation
I will not join the war machines of today, but I can no longer remain silent. For the first time in my life, I have the chance to play a part in an auspicious moment in our country’s history. My generation is voting at record numbers in this year’s election. We are out canvassing in many states, writing on blogs, and discussing politics in cafes. We are no longer the apathetic ‘millenials’, as the media portrays, at least for the time being.
While I focus on this year’s crucial presidential election in the United States, I cannot ignore an election occurring thousands of miles away. It seems that, as my generation becomes more enthralled in politics in the United States, our comrades in Iran become further disillusioned. The sham elections being held in Iran today serve as a stark contrast to Iran’s election of Khatami in 1998. Khatami, the black sheep candidate, brought hope to a generation of voters who continue to live in a society created by their elders. Instead of bringing change, Khatami paved the way for a president who has introduced harsher restrictions and spewed hateful speeches that threaten to create international conflict. The daily lives of Iran’s growing population continues to be shaped by a group of unelected male elders protected by a system that was created to ensure that voices of dissent would remain silent. Their votes mean nothing when their candidates do not even appear on the ballot.
Iran’s Rich Legacy
Iran has one of the most complex societies in the world. Iran, despite Ahmadinejad’s claims, has an enormous population of young and old Iranians who are as similar in lifestyles and beliefs as we are in the United States. One of Iran’s most oppressed and silenced populations unsurprisingly are its homosexual citizens. Iran has a rich literary tradition laced with the recurring theme of homosexuality. Ancient Greek acceptance and praise of homosexual love made its way through Turkey and into present-day Iran. The famed marriage of two of Tehran’s elite sons during Mohammad Reza Shah’s reign continues to circulate throughout Iranian social circles. Celebrated poets such as Hafez and Rumi wrote poems depicting love of a homosexual nature.
As with much of Iran’s history, the country’s current regime glosses over the legacy left by a culture that counts the first human rights doctrine as one of its accomplishments.
Homosexuality as a Crime
Iran’s human rights record is dismal despite it being a signatory to multiple UN resolutions focusing on human rights. News stories concerning executions of homosexuals in Iran spread throughout the international arena. The executions of Mokhtar and Ali are just two examples of executions occurring in Iran for the crime of lavat.
Unfortunately, Iran does not appear to be changing its stance on homosexuality – though it has seemingly found a modern solution. Khomeini’s fatwa, which allows sex-change operations for ‘diagnosed transsexuals’, serves as the only alternative for Iran’s homosexual population. Gay Iranians must choose between a life of fear and hiding from the government and a life of rejection as outcasts for choosing to live within the legal boundaries as the opposite gender.
The International Scene
Iranians who attempt to escape Iran’s harsh restrictions by seeking a life in Western countries end up facing a difficult asylum-seeking process that may very well end with their return to Iran. Sadly, while many Western countries attempt to wave the banner of tolerance and respect for human rights, very few actually can claim any role in the plight of protecting the lives of homosexuals, let alone Iranian homosexuals.
International human rights organizations have accomplished very little for the plight of Iranian homosexuals. Many NGOs, activists, and intellectuals have turned their attention to the possibility of potential crimes other than lavat being committed by gay Iranian men. Iran’s allegations of child rape occurring in several lavat cases, which resulted in executions, have successfully overshadowed the legitimacy of such claims and stripped the executed individuals of receiving any sympathy. In the case of Mahmoud and Ayaz, even if allegations of them raping a 13 year old boy hold true, which are still being disputed by many LGBT and human rights groups, the fact that two teenage boys were executed and the manner in which they were executed should still be troubling.
Art Makes an Impact
Despite the lack of support shown by both NGOs and governments, filmmakers and artists continue to show the human side of the plight of Iranian homosexuals through films such as Fremde Haut (USA title: Unveiled) and Be Like Others. My generation will see many more cases like that of Matthew Shepard or Shahab Darvishi. After fifty years of striving for peace, it seems only fitting that this generation’s slogan will be “Make Art, Not War”.
