Transsexuality in Iran

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Transsexuality in Iran was not an issue for government agencies before the 1979 Islamic Revolution . From the mid-1980s, transsexuals were officially recognized by the state and allowed to undergo gender reassignment measures . The public coffers bear up to 50% of the costs, and gender reassignment is noted in all official documents.

By the Iranian military are trans men gutted and homosexuality is illegal in military identity cards which is noted accordingly, making them during inspections as gay identified or transsexual and the risk of discrimination are exposed, some with physical abuse.

history

Before 1979

In 1963, Ruhollah Khomeini wrote in a book that there were no religious regulations prohibiting corrective surgery on intersex people. For this, however, the determination of an anatomical intersexuality is necessary as a prerequisite. At the time, however, Khomeini was viewed as a radical and rebellious opponent of the Shah . Because of this, his fatwas had no impact on the government, which did not enact transsexual laws.

After the Islamic Revolution

The Shiite fundamentalist government that came to power as a result of the so-called Islamic Revolution continued the state discrimination against homosexuals and transsexuals already practiced under the rule of the Shah and tightened the corresponding criminal legislation by introducing corporal punishments such as flogging and the death penalty.

One of the first transgender rights activists was Maryam Khatoon Molkara , who was male by birth but identified herself as female. Before the revolution, she had long wanted to undergo sex reassignment surgery and wanted religious permission to do so. In 1975 she began to write letters to Khomeini, who from exile had become the most important leading figure in the opposition to the Shah's regime. After the revolution, however, her employment was terminated, she was subjected to forced treatment with male hormones and then forcibly sent to a mental institution. Her connections later enabled her to be released; she continued to work as a lobbyist for the rights of transsexuals and is involved in the transsexual movement. She later met Khomeini personally when he returned to Iran. During her visit, she was beaten by guards. However, Khomeini gave her a letter authorizing her gender reassignment surgery. She underwent the operation in 1997. This fatwa, issued in 1987, allowed transgender women in Iran to live as women until they could afford the operation. They can also have their birth certificate changed and have their official documents issued with the new gender. They are also allowed to marry men.

present

The validity of Khomeini's fatwa was confirmed by his successor Ali Khamenei ; it is also approved by other clergymen. However, there is still a great social stigma associated with transsexuality in Iranian society. Many transsexuals are encouraged to keep their past secret after their gender assimilation. After a transsexual person has undergone a gender reassignment operation (public coffers pay up to 50% of the costs), they are officially assigned the new gender. All legal documents such as birth certificates, identity cards and passports will be adapted accordingly. In the years prior to 2008, Iran had the second most gender reassignment process in the world (after Thailand ).

In addition to the general ban on homosexuality in Iran , trans men are exempt from general military service - they are classified as mentally disturbed . The wording of the law documenting their exemption is listed in military ID cards, which means that they are identified as gay or transsexual during controls . This exposes them to the risk of discrimination and sometimes leads to physical abuse.

According to a 2001 UNHCR report , gender reassignment surgery is often carried out in Iran. Homosexuals and cross-dressers are safe as long as they are cautious. The Safra project (Resource Project for LBTQ Muslim women) criticized the report in 2004, saying it was too optimistic. The report from the Safra project suggests that the UNHCR underestimates the legal pressure on transsexuals and the LGTBQ community. It is not possible for transsexuals to have sex reassignment surgery. If recognized as transsexuals, they would be expected to seek immediate treatment. Sections of the community who want to decide to live as transsexuals without gender reassignment surgery, or even cross-dressers and gender-queer people, have to continue to live under their gender assigned at birth. Thus, they are then quickly subjected to harassment or allegations of being gay, which puts them at risk of being punished by the law against homosexual acts .

The Hodschatoleslam Muhammed Medhi Kariminia has expressed the wish that “the right of transsexuals to change their gender should be a human right”. He officially stated that he “wanted to get involved in the social acceptance and protection of transsexuals”.

Transgender people in Iran have set up non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and support groups to provide information and resources to support transgender people and work against social stigma. Many rely on the medical model and treat transgender identity as a disease. While this adds to the pathology of the transgender experience, it gives the individual space to identify and discern stigma without judgment of moral deviation.

See also

literature

  • Afsaneh Najmabadi: What Can We Learn From Transsexuality in Iran? In: Gerhard Schreiber: Transsexuality in Theology and Neuroscience: Findings, Controversies, and Perspectives. de Gruyter, Berlin / Boston 2016, ISBN 978-3-11-044080-5 , pp. 175–194.
  • Sahar Bluck: Transsexual in Iran: A Fatwa for Freedom? In: Christopher Pullen: LGBT Transnational Identity and the Media. Palgrave Macmillan, 2012, ISBN 978-0-230-35351-0 , chapter 3.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Robert Tait: A fatwa for transsexuals. July 28, 2005, accessed February 9, 2020; Quote: "One woman's courage in appealing to the late Ayatollah Khomeini has made Tehran the unlikely sex change capital of the world."
  2. ↑ a b message: A fatwa for freedom. ( Memento from December 25, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) In: The Guardian . July 27, 2005, accessed February 9, 2020.
  3. ^ Message: The Ayatollah and the transsexual. ( Memento of December 28, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) In: The Independent . November 25, 2004, accessed February 9, 2020; Quote: "That Maryam Khatoon Molkara can live a normal life is due to a compassionate decision by one man: the leader of the Islamic revolution himself."
  4. ↑ Vanessa Barford: Iran's “diagnosed transsexuals”. In: BBC.co.uk . February 25, 2008, accessed on February 9, 2020 (English): "Homosexual relationships are banned in Iran, but the country allows sex change operations" .
  5. ↑ United States Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor: Iran 2016 Human Rights Report - Executive Summary. Washington DC 2016 (English; PDF: 460 kB, 48 pages on state.gov).
  6. ↑ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): Iran Country Report. In: 7th European Country of Origin Information Seminar: Berlin, 11. – 12. June 2001 - Final Report. New York 2001, pp. 57–109, here p. 105 (English; PDF: 617 kB, 53 pages on ecoi.net ( Memento from May 23, 2004 in the Internet Archive )).
  7. ^ Safra Project: Country Information Report Iran. London 2004, p. 15 ff. (English; PDF: 357 kB, 20 pages on safraproject.org ( Memento of December 17, 2005 in the Internet Archive )).
  8. ↑ Frances Harrison: Iran's sex-change operations. In: BBC News . January 5, 2005, accessed February 9, 2,020.
  9. ↑ Eftekhar Ardebili, Mehrdad: “Transgenderism in Iran” in Current Critical Debates in the Field of Transsexual Studies . Routledge, New York 2018, ISBN 978-1-138-48130-5 , pp. ?? (English).