One of the major criticisms traditionally directed at activists for the rights of sexual minorities is that, given the numerous problems in Iranian society such as continuous violations of citizens’ rights by the government, as well as violations of the rights of women, Baha’is, Christians, Dervishes, Sunnis, and other issues, should we really be focusing our time and potential on advocating for the rights of sexual minorities? And does addressing the rights of sexual minorities divert our time and attention from more important issues?

For further examination of the mentioned issue, it is necessary to first review the citizenship pyramid, in which citizens of a society are classified into first, second, and sometimes lower levels, and then specifically examine the situation of this pyramid in Iran.

In societies ruled by tyranny, different parts of society are separated from each other as a result of tyrannical policies. In fact, the consequence of tyranny is nothing but the separation of society and the emergence of independent islands and different parts without any connection to each other. In dictatorships, the government always tries to impose its political beliefs, worldview, ideology, and its own needs on the entire society and institutionalize them through various pressures, and impose them on people as internal beliefs and norms.

The historical observation of such governments shows that the mentioned process is not limited to a specific class, layer, or group, and includes all members and diverse groups of society, from ordinary people to cultural, political, artistic, literary, sports, and other classes.

In societies dominated by ideological tyranny (including religious and non-religious ideologies), a certain class holds power over the society and demonstrates conformity and obedience to their desired norms and values. This privileged class is considered the elite, and although they may not openly declare it, their access to resources and privileges compared to the rest of society is evidence of this claim.

As a result of these actions of dictatorial governments, a pyramid of citizenship is formed, in which at the top are rulers, officials, and managers affiliated with the government, who make up the privileged class.

At the next level of the pyramid, there is a layer that demonstrates conformity and compliance with the desired norms and standards, which make up the ruling class.

At lower levels of the pyramid, the existing minorities in that society are classified based on the degree of their distance from the desired goals of the ruling authority, ranging from less privileged classes to completely deprived, isolated, and marginalized classes.

The situation of citizenship pyramid in Islamic countries, including Iran, is even more regrettable due to the legal differences between men and women’s rights.

In Iran, the citizen pyramid starts with the elite class, which includes the clergy and those in charge of affairs, as well as loyal managers to the ruling Shia ideology. In the lower layer of the pyramid, a segment of society that shares the norms and values of the ruling Shia ideology is placed. However, an important point in this layer is that, for religious and legal reasons, it is divided into two categories of women and men, so that a woman belonging to this class does not have the same rights and benefits as a man belonging to this class. Therefore, in all layers of this citizen pyramid, a sub-class related to women is formed, which, while belonging to that particular class, does not have similar rights as men in the same class.

“Now we can return to the issue raised at the beginning of the conversation, which is how many sexual minorities are there in Iran who should be fought for their civil and citizen rights? And does addressing the rights of sexual minorities distract us from addressing more important issues?”

The truth that the proponents of such questions have overlooked for whatever reason is the hierarchical structure in societies with an ideological religious government, including Iran, where people are divided for various reasons, both consciously and unconsciously, and this division within each class also includes sub-classes.

Therefore, the effort to uphold the rights of each of these minorities, especially groups that for various reasons are at the bottom and most deprived layers of citizenship rights, also opens the way for the rights of middle-class layers. For example, if efforts for the rights of sexual minorities, including homosexuals and transsexuals, in Iran lead to progress, it could also lead to a better outlook for women’s rights.

As evidence of the claim of tying the knot of women’s rights and the rights of sexual minorities, we can refer to the recent case regarding the decision of the mayor of Tehran to segregate workplace environments by gender and subsequently ban the employment of female secretaries for male managers under the guise of a plan to honor women. Following the media coverage of this issue, civil activists began to express their opposition. In an unprecedented move, the scope of these protests extended to the objections of President Hassan Rouhani and the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare.

The Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare has requested in a letter to the Tehran Municipality to cancel the directive of this organization for separating the physical space of male and female employees and has announced that this directive is in violation of international labor conventions, including the Convention on Non-Discrimination in Employment and Occupation.

In this letter, which is numbered 75487 and dated 14 Tir 93, and signed by Mohammad Taghi Hosseini, Deputy Minister of Labor for International Affairs, to the Municipality and City Council of Tehran, it has been clearly stated that the Islamic Republic is obligated to comply with the requirements and commitments arising from accession to the International Labor Convention, including the Convention on Non-Discrimination in Employment and Occupation. Therefore, not only will these objections and protests not lead anywhere, but a new wave of officials expressing their agreement with the decision of the Municipality has begun.

In one of the most biased and partisan statements that reflects the ruling government’s view towards different social classes, Mohammad Nabi Habibi, the Secretary-General of the Islamic Coalition Party, stated in an interview with Fars News Agency that his party officially supports this action by the municipality, rejecting the arguments of the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare and calling some international conventions incorrect.

“It is correct that in the Islamic system, performing a task with an Islamic color is correct, and then a group, including one of the officials of the Ministry of Labor, who said that we have commitments in conventions, is not correct. In other words, in some of these conventions, same-sex marriage has also been recommended. This is not a reason to question the value of this action under the pretext.”

As it is evident, enmity and a certain mindset towards people having authority is not limited to just sexual minorities. Women, Baha’is, Christians, Sufis, Sunnis, and political activists opposing government policies, and even men who may seem invulnerable at first glance, are also targeted and oppressed by the ruling power. The difference for these minorities lies in the intensity of enmity and hatred from the government, which forcibly pushes them to the bottom of the social hierarchy and makes them the most vulnerable. It should not be overlooked that the spiritual and psychological damages inflicted on these minorities will also affect individuals at all levels of the social hierarchy.

It is obvious that in Iran, citizens are divided into first, second, and lower classes according to an unwritten law, and unfortunately, the ruling elite oppresses the weaker minorities who are at the bottom of the pyramid and are deprived of any citizenship rights. Their lives are often threatened as well. If there is a consensus on defending these minorities and a large number of activists and people stand up for their rights within the framework of civil struggle and also through raising social awareness, achieving the rights of the middle classes will be more attainable and the ruling elite will not have much resistance against it.

On the other hand, using the number of individuals in a minority as a criterion for deciding whether or not to defend their civil and citizenship rights is completely wrong and futile. Asking about the exact number of sexual minorities in Iran is the most irrelevant question that intentionally or unintentionally aims to dismiss the issue. Even in the face of violating the rights of a single person, one should not remain silent and let the oppressors continue their actions. A clear example of this is the wave of solidarity that was created after the arrest of a group of six individuals who had recreated the “Happy” music video. This wave of support led to their story being covered by major and reputable international media outlets and resulted in serious consequences for the Islamic Republic.

In a general summary, it can be understood that defending the civil and citizenship rights of sexual minorities leads to many benefits, including reducing the rate of divorces caused by inappropriate marriages under societal and familial pressure, the possibility of pursuing middle-class demands with higher authority, improving the mental health of society due to the improvement of mental health of a mostly deprived and neglected minority, creating a sense of equality among members of society, promoting human dignity in the face of the prevalent government view that seeks to eliminate the owner of any opposing opinion, strengthening peaceful coexistence and tolerance of different perspectives and ways of life, practicing acceptance of humans who do not think like us and do not live like us. All of these factors will surely contribute to improving the quality of life for the LGBTQ+ community.

The cycle of injustice in civil and citizenship rights will not stop in dictatorships, as long as they are ignored and justified by claiming that their numbers are not significant and therefore can be overlooked. Just like a small snowball that starts at the top of a mountain and grows into a heavy avalanche, this cycle of injustice and elimination of minority groups, if accompanied by the silence of the people and civil activists, will turn into a heavy avalanche of more injustices against larger minority groups, ultimately taking away the rights of the majority of individuals in society who are not part of the elite class.

The conditions that seem to be found by comparing them with the current situation in Iran can be found in many instances.