
Forced migration of young Iranian people / Nireh Ansari
Migration is a phenomenon that has a long history in human culture and history, especially among Iranians (the pioneers of migration literature in Iran, such as famous writers like Bozorg Alavi and Sadeq Hedayat). By examining all aspects of it, it is clear that the motivations for [forced] migration in recent years have been more dependent on political, social, and economic conditions than any other factor, which may be why Iranians have a higher rate of migration compared to other minorities. It can easily be seen that leaving the country is linked to events and conditions within Iran, such as political, social, and economic factors.
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Definition of diversity
“Queer” is apparently a translation of the English word “Queer”, which is a social theory. The reason for its use by some queer people is to declare its universality. According to this social theory, the term “homosexual” only includes women and men who have a same-sex orientation, and does not encompass other types of sexual groups that are subject to various political, social, and cultural pressures; including transgender individuals, transvestites, and “sadomasochists”.
Some of the supporters of the term “queer” believe that sexuality changes over time and that sexual identity (not sexual orientation) is not fixed. They make this argument based on the theories of Michel Foucault. In particular, they claim that the term “homosexual” does not encompass sadomasochism as a minority. One could ask to what extent Foucault’s theories were influenced by his own sadomasochistic tendencies. However, there has not been much discussion about the possibility of a transformation of sexual identity and many have rejected it. If this is true, then we must look at the factors that contribute to this change, which the supporters of the queer theory remain silent about.
Therefore, the term “sexual minority” is used to compensate for the limitations of the word “homosexual”.
“Dagharbash, in fact, provides a more complete understanding of the sexual behaviors of this group of individuals in society. However, it is only a theory and has yet to be proven (like feminism). This concept fully encompasses bisexuality, something that the definition of “homosexuality” was unable to do.”
And of course, all individuals who have had to flee or migrate forcibly face challenges, but some refugees, mainly young [sexual minority] individuals, are exposed to distinct dangers, as they often face discrimination and targeted violence even in countries of asylum. For example, in countries like Turkey and Afghanistan, due to the non-acceptance of this phenomenon, many of these individuals refrain from seeking and searching for support out of fear of further harm. Their protection needs are often not met by camp officials and they are unable to participate in group activities or access support that could be beneficial to them legally.
Policies related to foreigners in Iran
In Iran, like many other Islamic countries, according to the common interpretation of Islamic jurisprudence, same-sex relationships are considered a crime under Islamic penal law. On the other hand, in the official healthcare system of Iran, individuals with same-sex orientation are labeled as “mentally ill” after being evaluated by a team of psychologists, psychiatrists, and doctors. Additionally, this healthcare system also labels individuals who do not conform to the gender identity assigned to them at birth by society (transgender individuals) as having a “disorder” of gender identity and being “mentally ill.”
Regarding the legal status of these individuals and its connection to human rights, according to the Guardian news agency, after the special rapporteur of the United Nations expressed concern about the systematic persecution of minorities in Iran, an Iranian official who is considered responsible for protecting human rights called the persecution a form of illness.
Mohammad Javad Larijani, the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Human Rights (Judiciary) of Iran, said to the representatives present at a specialized human rights session: “In our society, homosexuality is seen as an abnormality.” According to this report, Larijani stated: “Promoting homosexuality is illegal and we have strict laws against it. We view homosexuality as a physical and psychological illness that can be treated. However, we do not condone violence and mistreatment against homosexuals!”
This is while, according to the fatwa of the majority of clerics in Iran and also the Islamic Penal Code, the punishment for homosexuality is execution. For this reason, so far, individuals have been executed for the crime of homosexuality.
Regarding this, “Abdullah Javadi Amoli”, one of the clergy members, announced in a speech: “Homosexuals are like dogs, pigs, and carriers of AIDS” or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former president, stated in his famous speech at Columbia University in New York: “In Iran, we do not have homosexuals like your country. This issue does not exist in our country.”
In this regard, Larijani added: “Homosexuality is a norm in the West, so they are forced to accept and embrace this phenomenon, but we strongly oppose it.” He emphasizes that “the West must allow Iran to take action against homosexuals based on its own interpretation of this phenomenon.”
In this context, in (76) countries, cohabitation is still considered illegal. This includes (46) countries with shared interests, according to the laws in countries with Islamic systems such as Iran, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Syria, this phenomenon is considered a “crime”.
While the West has removed homosexuality from the list of “sexual disorders” for over 40 years, meaning in 1973 the American Psychiatric Association removed it from the list of mental disorders, and then in 1990 homosexuality was removed from the World Health Organization’s classification of diseases and health problems.
While, according to international laws and documents of human rights, especially the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, “a refugee is someone who has been seriously harmed or persecuted in their own country or country of origin for one of the following reasons:
Race/ Religion/ Nationality/ Sexual Orientation and Political Beliefs.
The Dublin Convention, also known as the Dublin Law, was adopted in 1997. It states that “asylum seekers must declare their asylum in the first safe country they enter.” However, in 2020, a proposal to abolish the Dublin Law and replace it with a new system was submitted to the European Commission. While these actions are not in the best interest of asylum seekers, especially for those who are vulnerable and young, the main purpose of this new proposal is to manage and bring order to the current asylum crisis faced by European Union countries.
Although the details of the new proposal are not clear, it indicates that from now on, handling asylum cases in general and the cases of young asylum seekers in particular, who are in the age category of youth, in countries that are facing an influx of asylum seekers, will be sent to other European countries after accepting refugees based on a quota system.
In recent years, various Iranian organizations have been striving and contacting the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Ankara, requesting that Iranian refugees, especially young refugees, be given special priority compared to before. This is because Turkey is still considered an unsafe country for refugees. According to estimates from Iranian refugee organizations, there were nearly 1,000 Iranian refugees in Turkey in May 2016. However, this is not a definitive number and may only include those who have approached these organizations. Although all refugees face difficult conditions, it is clear that Iranian refugees are particularly vulnerable and this issue should be given special attention.
The policies of Western countries towards [alienated] youth.
For some time now, there has been a discourse between politicians and mainstream media in certain Western European and North American countries on one side, and some Eastern European, Middle Eastern, and North African countries on the other, regarding the rights of minorities.
On one hand, politicians and media in countries such as Iran and some Eastern European and African countries, with an emphasis on religion and tradition, consider same-sex relationships as a sin and deserving of punishment, and view homosexuality as a “decadent Western culture” promoted by Western media. They believe it should be stopped through censorship and filtering. Some even deny the existence of homosexuals in their country, as mentioned before.
Some politicians and media in certain Western and North American countries reproduce the idea of “civilizing” Western countries, where they believe that these countries should save other “non-Western” countries from their governments and people who are considered “uncivilized”. This perspective divides countries into “civilized Western” and “uncivilized Eastern” countries. However, Japan is a civilized country and does not have Western civilization.
Supporting refugees, especially young ones, in the advertisements of these groups is of great importance, even though in reality, refugees face many challenges even after being granted asylum in these countries. Both sides of this discourse ignore the prevalence of same-sex relationships in the history of countries like Iran and do not address the impact of colonization in the formation of anti-homosexuality laws and the belief that individuals with same-sex tendencies are “mentally ill”.
The punishment for adultery in Islamic Penal Law.
In the field of sexuality and gender, the section or chapter of sodomy, homosexuality, and lesbianism, article 233 of the Islamic Penal Code adopted in 2013 states: “The punishment for the active participant in sodomy, regardless of whether their role was consensual or not, is execution.”
According to this law, the punishment for Muslim and unmarried men who commit the act of “active role” is one hundred lashes, as long as they have not committed sexual assault. If married or non-Muslim men commit such an act, they may face the punishment of execution. In the [old] Islamic Penal Code, Article 134 states: “If two or more women are found naked under a cover due to lust and without necessity, they will be sentenced to a punishment of up to 99 lashes, proportionate to the crime and the perpetrator, and in case of repeated offenses, in the third and subsequent instances, they will be sentenced to one hundred lashes as the maximum punishment.”
Furthermore, Article 237 of the newly passed law of 1392 states: “Homosexuality in males, except for sodomy and penetration, such as kissing, touching, etc., is punishable by 31 to 74 lashes of the sixth degree.” And clause 1 of the said article states: “This punishment also applies to females.” And the punishment for consensual sexual intercourse under Article 239 of the same law is 100 lashes.
While the international community of human rights has criticized the Islamic Republic in recent years for violating the rights of prisoners, political protesters, women, children, and minorities through torture and suppression, it has continuously demanded that the government officials of the Islamic Republic remain faithful to the treaties they have signed in this regard and act accordingly.
In fact, the approved Punishment Law (1392) is a result of such pressure and constraint that the Islamic Republic claims to have established a “reconciliation between Shia Islam and human rights” in this law! For example, it has been claimed that the punishment of “stoning” has been removed from the text of the law, or that gender discrimination has been eliminated and the execution of children and adolescents has been stopped.
In addition to these matters, the new law states in Article 220: “Regarding the limits mentioned in this law, the principle of one hundred and sixty-seventh of the Constitution shall be followed.” And Article 167 of the Constitution also states: “The judge is obligated to make an effort to find the ruling for each case in the written laws, and if it cannot be found, to issue a ruling based on credible Islamic sources or fatwas, and cannot refuse to hear the case and issue a ruling under the pretext of silence, violation, generality, or conflict of written laws.” This means that the judge’s hand is open for ruling in cases not mentioned in the Islamic Penal Code, and due to differences in opinions among Islamic sources and interpretations of Islamic sources, we will never witness a consistent approach.
Although the actions and pressures of civil and international society have had some influence on this policy of “reform in Islamic penal law”, it does not mean that there has been a fundamental change in this law.
For this reason, the human rights watchdog criticized the new Islamic punishment law, stating: “Some of the amendments made in the new text ignore the rights of suspects and convicts even more than before, allowing judges to issue sentences and rulings that violate the rights of the accused.”
This is while legislators, law makers, and judicial authorities in Iran have described these reforms as a serious effort towards aligning with Iran’s international obligations regarding human rights!
“While the deputy manager of the Middle East division of the Human Rights Watch has also stated: “The new version of the Islamic Penal Code allows the government to imprison, torture, and execute critics, including adolescents/young adults and other age groups.”
This matter speaks of the immutability of the age of criminal responsibility and also the amount of blood money for women (half of that for men), which is stated in this law and so far we have not witnessed any changes. Even regarding the “punishment of stoning”, the issue is confusing and in practice, the punishment of stoning has not been abolished and according to the new law, this punishment is referred to as “deprivation of life”.
The Islamic Penal Code essentially considers homosexuality as a type of illness, for which no treatment is offered, while from a medical perspective, diagnosis and treatment always go hand in hand.
From a legal perspective, this situation is considered a type of criminal act and the law determines a punishment, known as “limits and boundaries”, for those who commit this act!
The outcome/result of the conversation.
From one side, society is influenced by the red lines of the clerical system in Iran and social taboos, but not enough attention has been paid to the fact that gender stereotypes and societal assumptions about male dominance have been shaped by heteronormativity and homonormativity. There is a greater emphasis on stereotypes related to femininity, while masculinity has received less attention among Iranian actors. However, it is better to also consider the issue of lesbian women, just like men.
From the other side, after changes in the Islamic Penal Code in the years (1390/91) which resulted in its approval in the year (1392), not only was “homosexuality” not decriminalized, but the criminalization of sexual identity and behavior of these [individuals] was included in this law, and a new chapter of the struggle against homosexuality has been added.
The added danger and concern is that the Islamic government can have more control over the marginalized community, especially young Iranians. This can lead to further suppression and activists in this group are worried about the added risk that their social activities may be considered a crime and, according to the interpretation of “Qazi’s knowledge”, could result in the death penalty.
As a result, it can be stated that in the current circumstances, no efforts are being made to align laws with human rights principles in the judicial and legislative system of Iran, and all religious rulings are interpreted and enforced with stubbornness and without considering fundamental human principles. With this description, the ways to improve and change laws in relation to the legal and social status of minorities in Iran seem very distant and unattainable, and can only be discussed within the framework of theoretical and social ideas.
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"Others" 45 Number 12345 Human rights Jurist Monthly Peace Line Magazine Niré Ansari Others peace line Researchers Sad and masochistic. The daily problems of today's youth. The problems of young people The youth are the future of Iran. Transsexual Transvestite Youth of the other world.