My first encounter with Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) perhaps dates back to 2009 and the months following the events after the presidential election. The times when I used to search for news, other than the lies broadcasted on TV as news, using anti-filters and dial-up internet. When I was less than 18 years old, I learned that human rights do not discriminate among human beings. Only a few months after that, the turmoil of my personal life led to a recognition of my sexual orientation and that led my life in another direction. For many years, most of my activities were limited to sexual and gender minorities. However, I always had a hint of attention to human rights violations in the 1980s. Which, in the end, played an important role in my arrest!
But I confess that I recognized the importance and influence of HRANA in prison. The only human rights organization that knew instantly who was being arrested and who was leaving. In addition, it gave all prisoners, regardless of their beliefs, a space to convey their voices to the world through letters, and I had just realized the importance of this during my short period in prison.
Until that day, after years of working as an LGBT activist in the Persian-speaking world, I had faced a bitter reality and accepted that LGBT people are not considered a priority in human rights organizations or the Persian media. I knew that sometimes I had to negotiate to publish a brief report on the violation of the rights of sexual and gender minorities. An effort that was generally unsuccessful for less well-known people. I knew that reports and articles in this area were limited to a few specific days and weeks of the year, May 17 or a few other occasions on the calendar. Undoubtedly, the difficulty of communicating with members of the LGBTI community plays a role in the small number of these people in the Persian-language media, but not so much that we deny the existence of homophobia in the Iranian society.
Unfortunately, we can take homophobia and xenophobia with ourselves, unlike our homeland, and take it wherever we want. To the heart of Europe or North America!
But as I obtained further knowledge of HRANA activists, and especially when I began my collaboration with this large group, it became a turning point in my history of human rights activities. I could see that it did not matter who the news was about or whether the victims of human rights violations were heterosexual or gay! Or whether the source of the news is a media personality or an anonymous person. What mattered was the violation of human rights. Perhaps what mattered was sticking to a pact that the early members of the group of human rights activists made 15 years ago. However, the increasing trend of observing and reporting violations of LGBT rights in the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRANA) or the increase of analytical articles in the Peace Mark Monthly magazine during its years of activity is undeniable.
For the first time, I saw that changes and even corrections in this field are welcomed, and the accuracy of the news is measured with great obsession. Especially in the field of transsexual people’s rights, which the government institutions in Iran are eager to show how positive their condition is. I saw that it was impossible to ignore the sensitivities in this area, since we are in a situation where an incomplete report or the use of inappropriate literature can endanger the security of an LGBT
person inside the country. Moving between these red lines requires the ability of a rope dancer! But instead of avoiding the publication of this news, these human rights activists double their accuracy and are careful and precautious in
choosing the words of each report.
I can only hope that other Persian-language media outlets will benefit from the experience of this group, and that one day, the share of human rights reports on the condition of sexual and gender minorities will be proportionate to the population of this oppressed community.
Remember, fewer than two decades passed since the day when Seyyed Mohammad Khatami proudly spoke about the existence of the death penalty for homosexuals until the day when Mohammad Javad Zarif denied any governmental interference in the private lives of the people. This change is neither due to internal reforms in the Islamic Republic nor to changes in the laws. Rather, it is the work of anonymous and well-known activists who have stood up against the normalization of evil. The only change is the increase in the reports of gay rights violations in Iran published by human rights organizations such as this group.
