LGBT rights in Iran

Since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, international human rights groups have cited government persecution of LGBT rights in Iran, including public floggings and executions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals. In 2007, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, speaking to Columbia University, said that homosexuality does not exist in Iran, though a spokesperson later stated that his comments were misunderstood. [ [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,301043,00.html Ahmadinejad Says Comments About Gays Were Misunderstood] ; Fox News; 2007-10-30; Retrieved on 2007-12-12] Homosexuality is a crime punishable by death under the country's theocratic Islamic government. Any type of sexual activity outside of a heterosexual marriage remain forbidden. Gay men are treated far more harshly than lesbians; some gay men undergo sex changes (which the late Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini declared permissible in a fatwa) as the only way to avoid persecution.

History of LGBT rights in Iran

There is a large amount of literature in Persian that explicitly illustrates the ancient existence of homosexuality among Iranians. [ [http://www.glbtq.com/literature/mid_e_lit_persian.html glbtq >> literature >> Middle Eastern Literature: Persian ] ]

In Persian poetry, references to sexual love can be found in addition to those of spiritual/religious love. A few ghazals (love poems) and texts in Saadi's Bustan and Gulistan have been interpreted by Western readers as homoerotic poems. In some poems, Sa'di's beloved is a young man, not a beautiful woman. In this he followed the conventions of traditional Persian poetry. Sa'di's own attitude toward homosexuals was more negative than positive. In the Gulistan he stated, "If a Tatar slays that hermaphrodite / The Tatar must not be slain in return." Another story tells of the qazi of Hamdan whose affection towards a farrier-boy is condemned by his friends and the king, who eventually says: "Everyone of you who are bearers of your own faults / Ought not to blame others for their defects." [ [http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/sadi.htm Sa'di ] ] Many misinterpretations of Persian poetry also stem from distorted translations. In the Persian language, there exists only one word for "him/his" and "her". In English translations, the translator has to select one and assign a gender to the word.

Author Janet Afary, an associate professor at Purdue University, claims that "Classical Persian literature — like the poems of Attar (died 1220), Rumi (d. 1273), Sa’di (d. 1291), Hafez (d. 1389), Jami (d. 1492), and even those of the 20th century Iraj Mirza (d. 1926) — are replete with homoerotic allusions, as well as explicit references to beautiful young boys and to the practice of pederasty." She further states that "Professors of literature have been forced to teach that these extraordinarily beautiful gay love poems aren’t really gay at all and that their very explicit references to same-sex love are really all about men and women." She says that the 1979 revolution was partly motivated by moral outrage against the Shah's regime, and in particular against a mock same-sex wedding between two young men with ties to the court, and says that this explains the virulence of the anti-homosexual oppression in Iran. [ [http://www.gaycitynews.com/gcn_432/iraniansourcesquestion.html] ]

There are many other Iranian homosexual authors who stated similar issues. In one source, the author claims: "The 'beloved' in Persian lyrics is, as a rule, not a female, but a young male, often a pubescent or adolescent youth, or a young boy. No sense of shame, no unease, no notion of concern for religious prohibition affects the exuberant descriptions of the male beloved or the passionate love displayed by the poets for him." [ [http://www.iranica.com/articles/v12f4/v12f4026c.html#Persian Iranica.com - HOMOSEXUALITY ] ] Such contradictory statements can be attributed mainly to two issues: 1) the authors ignore the fact that this style of poetry has been the main style of Iranian poetry for centuries, irrespective of the sexual orientation of poets and 2) except between blood relations, "love" in Western culture is often used as shorthand for sexual love, which is not the case in Iranian culture. Love between a spiritual guide and a follower and love between family members are two examples of the separation of the ideas of love and sexual love. In Sufi poetry and Ghazal, the main theme is the love story between a human and his or her beloved God, who might be described as a beautiful man. The reference to God as a "male" can also be seen in other religions such as Christianity.

According to his most authoritative modern biographer, the Persian scholar Franklin D Lewis, "while Rumi seems slightly out of place in the company of Ginsberg, and seriously misunderstood as a poet of sexual love, it simply defies credulity to find Rumi in the realm of haute couture. But models draped in Donna Karan's new black, charcoal and platinum fall fashions actually flounced down the runway to health guru Deepak Chopra's recent musical versions of Rumi." [ [http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,1627744,00.html What goes round... | Review | Guardian Unlimited Books ] ]

In 1963, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini wrote a book in which he stated that there was no religious restriction on corrective surgery. However, this applied only to intersexuals, and at the time Khomeini was a radical, anti-Shah revolutionary and his fatwas did not carry any weight with the Imperial government, which did not have any specific policies regarding transgendered individuals.

Under the rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last monarch of the Pahlavi Dynasty, homosexuality was tolerated, even to the point of allowing news coverage of a same-sex wedding. In the late 1970s, some Iranians even began to talk about starting up a gay rights organization, similar to the Gay Liberation movement. Up until the revolution, there were some night clubs where gay behavior was tolerated. During the Shah's time, however, homosexuality was still taboo everywhere and often one could not turn to family or friends for support and guidance. There were no public agencies to assist youth or people who were confused or questioning their sexuality.

On 24 September 2007, while speaking at Columbia University, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, in answer to the question "Iranian women are now denied basic human rights and your government has imposed draconian punishments including execution on Iranian citizens who are homosexuals. Why are you doing those things?", "We don't have homosexuals, like in your country. I don't know who told you that." [http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/24/us.iran/index.html Ahmadinejad speaks; outrage and controversy follow - CNN.com ] ] An aide later claimed that he was misrepresented and was actually saying that "compared to American society, we don't have many homosexuals". The aide further clarified that "because of historical, religious and cultural differences homosexuality was less common in Iran and the Islamic world than in the West". [http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSBLA05294620071010 President misquoted over gays in Iran: aide | International | Reuters ] ]

Legal status

Since the 1979 Iranian revolution, the legal code has been based on a conservative interpretation of Islamic Shari'a law. All sexual relations that occur outside of a traditional, heterosexual marriage (i.e. sodomy or adultery) are illegal and no legal distinction is made between consensual or non-consensual sexual activity. Homosexual relations that occur between consenting adults in private are a crime and carry a maximum punishment of death. Teenage boys as young as fifteen are eligible for the death penalty (see Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni). Approved by the Islamic Republic Parliament on 30/7/1991 and finally ratified by the High Expediency Council on 28/11/1991, articles 108 through 140 distinctly talk about homosexuality and its punishments in detail: Fact|date=July 2008

Male homosexuality

Sodomy is a crime for which both partners can be punished by death. If the participants are adults, of sound mind and consenting; the method of execution is for the Shari'a judge to decide. A non-adult who engages in consensual sodomy is subject to a punishment of 74 lashes. (Articles 108 to 113) Sodomy is proved either if a person confesses four times to having committed sodomy or by the testimony of four righteous men. Testimony of women alone or together with a man does not prove sodomy. (Articles 114 to 119). "Tafhiz" (the rubbing of the thighs or buttocks) and the like committed by two men is punished by 100 lashes. On the fourth occasion, the punishment is death. (Articles 121 and 122). If two men "stand naked under one cover without any necessity", both are punished with up to 99 lashes; if a man "kisses another with lust" the punishment is 60 lashes. (Articles 123 and 124). If sodomy, or the lesser crimes referred to above, are proved by confession, and the person concerned repents, the Shari'a judge may request that he be pardoned. If a person who has committed the lesser crimes referred to above repents before the giving of testimony by the witnesses, the punishment is quashed. (Articles 125 and 126).

Female homosexuality

The punishment for female homosexuality involving persons who are mature, of sound mind, and consenting, is 100 lashes. If the act is repeated three times and punishment is enforced each time, the death sentence will apply on the fourth occasion. (Articles 127, 129, 130) The ways of proving lesbianism in court are the same as for male homosexuality. (Article 128) Non-Muslim and Muslim alike are subject to punishment (Article 130) The rules for the quashing of sentences, or for pardoning, are the same as for the lesser male homosexual offences (Articles 132 and 133) Women who "stand naked under one cover without necessity" and are not relatives are punished by up to 100 lashes. (Article 134)

Transsexuality

Iran has between 15,000 and 20,000 transsexuals, according to official statistics, although unofficial estimates put the figure at up to 150,000. Iran carries out more gender change operations than any country in the world besides Thailand. Sex changes have been legal since the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, spiritual leader of the 1979 Islamic revolution, passed a fatwa authorising them nearly 25 years ago. Whereas homosexuality is considered a sin, transsexuality is categorised as an illness subject to cure. While the government seeks to keep its approval quiet, state support has increased since Ahmadinejad took office in 2005. His government has begun providing grants of £2,250 for operations and further funding for hormone therapy. It is also proposing loans of up to £2,750 to allow those undergoing surgery to start their own businesses. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2177277,00.html Sex change funding undermines no gays claim] , Robert Tait, "The Guardian", September 26, 2007; accessed September 20, 2008.]

Application of laws

At the discretion of the Iranian court, fines, prison sentences, and public lashings may be used instead of a public execution. As the Islamic law covers all aspects of Iranian society and culture, no public discussion of homosexuality is permitted, no gay rights organizations are allowed to exist, and no political party that supports gay rights will have their candidates on the election ballot.

The charges of homosexuality and "Lavat" (sodomy) are difficult to discern in Iran. The judiciary allows forced confessions. Other charges are often paired with the Lavat crime, such as rape or acts against the state, and convictions are obtained in grossly flawed trials. Further, homosexuality has been a charged leveled at political dissidents. On March 14, 1994, famous dissident writer Ali Akbar Saidi Sirjani was charged with offenses ranging from drug dealing to espionage to homosexuality. He died in prison under mysterious circumstances. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E03EFDE1330F93BA15752C1A962958260 Leading Dissident Writer in Iran Dies After 8 Months in Detention] , "New York Times] , November 1994; accessed September 20, 2008.]

Capital punishment

According to The Boroumand Foundation [ [http://www.abfiran.org/english/memorial.php The Boroumand Foundation] ] , there are records of at least 107 executions with charges related to homosexuality between 1979 and 1990. [ [http://www.abfiran.org/english/memorial-search.php?do_search=Search&charges=1778515990&pagenum=0 Search the Iran Human Rights Memorial, Omid - Boroumand Foundation for Human Rights in Iran ] ] According to Amnesty International, at least 5 people convicted of "homosexual tendencies", three men and two women, were executed in January 1990, as a result of the Iranian government's policy of calling for the execution of those who practice homosexuality. [ [http://www.abfiran.org/english/person-12694.php Un-named person (male) - Promoting Human Rights in Iran ] ] In April 1992, Dr. Ali Mozafarian, a Sunni Muslim leader in the Fars province (Southern Iran), was executed in Shiraz after being convicted on charges of espionage, adultery, and sodomy. His videotaped confession was broadcast on television in Shiraz and in the streets of Kazerun and Lar.

On November 12, 1995, by the verdict of the eighth judicial branch of Hamadan and the confirmation of the Supreme Court of Iran, Mehdi Barazandeh, otherwise known as Safa Ali Shah Hamadani, was condemned to death. The judicial authorities announced that Barazandeh's crimes were repeated acts of adultery and "the obscene act of sodomy." The court's decree was carried out by stoning Barazandeh. Barazandeh belonged to the Khaksarieh Sect of Dervishes. (Islamic Republic Newspaper - November 14th 1995 + reported in Homan's magazine June, 10 1996).

In a November 2007 meeting with his British counterpart, Iranian MP Mohsen Yahyavi admitted that Iran believes in the death penalty for homosexuality. According to Yahyavi, gays deserve to be tortured, executed, or both. [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article2859606.ece Gays should be hanged, says Iranian minister] ; Timesonline.co.uk; 2007-11-13; Retrieved on 2008-04-01]

In July 2005 the Iranian Student News Agency covered the execution of Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni in Mashhad, which drew international attention when disturbing photos of the hanging were widely distributed around the Internet. [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297982,00.html Iran Does Far Worse Than Ignore Gays, Critics Say] , "Fox News", September 25, 2007; accessed September 20, 2008.] The executions of the two teenagers divided the human rights community over whether it was a gay issue; all human rights groups condemned the hangings as they were for crimes allegedly committed when the boys were minors. [http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050815/kim Witnesses to an Execution] , Richard Kim, "The Nation", August 7, 2005; accessed September 20, 2008.] The initial report from the ISNA, a government press agency, had stated that they were hung for homosexuality; after the international outcry, the Iranian government stated the hangings were primarily for raping a boy.

A similar pattern arose with the execution of Makwan Moloudzadeh (sometimes spelled "Mouloudzadeh") on December 6, 2007. Mouloudzadeh maintained his innocence throughout the trial. He was convicted of lavat-e iqabi (anal sex) and executed for raping three teenage boys when he was 13, even though all witnesses had retracted their accusations and Mouloudzadeh withdrew a forced confession. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7130380.stm Iranian hanged after verdict stay] ; BBCnews.co.uk; 2007-12-06; Retrieved on 2007-12-06] [ [http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/iran-execution-child-offender-makwan-moloudazdeh-mockery-justice-2007120 Amnesty International Press Release] after the execution of Moloudzadeh.] It is questionable whether Moloudzadeh was gay. Despite international outcry and a nullification of the death sentence by Iranian Chief Justice Ayatollah Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrud, Mouloudzadeh was hung without his family or his attorney being informed until after the fact. [ [http://www.iglhrc.org/site/iglhrc/section.php?id=5&detail=808 Statement of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission] ] [http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2007/12/06/africa/OUKWD-UK-IRAN-EXECUTION.php Iran seen hanging man for raping boys] , Frederick Dahl, Reuters via the "International Herald Tribune", December 6, 2007; accessed September 20, 2008.] The execution provoked international outcry since it violated two international treaties signed by Iran that outlaw capital punishment for crimes committed by minors, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. [ [http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country-files_156/iran_301/france-and-iran_2788/execution-of-mr.-makwan-mouloudzadeh-07.12.07_10446.html Statement of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs] , December 7, 2007.]

Two men were allegedly hanged publicly in the northern town of Gorgan for homosexual acts in November 2005. [http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/11/21/iran12072.htm Iran: Two More Executions for Homosexual Conduct] , Human Rights Watch, November 22, 2005; accessed September 20, 2008.] In July 2006 two youths were hanged for homosexuality in north-eastern Iran. [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/brutal-land-where-homosexuality-is-punishable-by-death-792057.html Brutal land where homosexuality is punishable by death] , Ann Penketh, "The Independent", March 6, 2008; accessed September 20, 2008.] In December 2008 Makwan Mouladzadeh was hanged for the alleged rape of three boys when he was 13, despite his accusers withdrawing their statements. On November 16, 2006, the State-run news agency reported the public execution of man convicted of sodomy in the western city of Kermanshah. [ [http://www.iglhrc.org/site/iglhrc/section.php?id=5&detail=752 IGLHRC Condemns Iran’s Continued Use of Sodomy Laws To Justify Executions and Arbitrary Arrests] , IGLHRC, July 18, 2007; accessed September 20, 2008.]

Arrests

On January 23rd, 2008, Hamzeh Chavi, 18, and Loghman Hamzehpour, 19, were arrested in Sardasht, in Iranian Azerbaijan for homosexuality. An on-line petition for their release began to circulate around the internet. [ [http://www.indymedia.be/node/25698 Online Petition for the release of Hamzeh Chavi and Loghman Hamzehpour] ; January 28, 2008; accessed September 20, 2008.] They apparently confessed to the authorities that they were in a relationship and in love, prompting an Islamic court to charge them with "Mohareb" ("enemies of Allah") and "Lavat" (sodomy).

There were two reported crackdowns in Esfahān (also spelled "Isfahan"), Iran's third-largest city. On May 10, 2007, Esfahān police arrested 87 people at a birthday party, including 80 suspected gay men, beating and detaining them through the weekend. [ [http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2007/05/14/4 87 arrested at gay party in Iran] , "The Advocate" via Gay.com, May 14, 2007; September 20, 2008.] All but 17 of the men were released; those who remained in custody were believed to have been wearing women's clothing. [ [http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20070521002&lang=e Amnesty International press release] , May 17, 2007; accessed September 20, 2008.] Photos of the beaten men were released by the Toronto-based Iranian Queer Organization. [ [http://www.pglo.net/IRQO/English/pages/062.htm Photos of Isfahan men beaten by police] , Iranian Queer Organization; accessed September 20, 2008.] According to Human Rights Watch, in February 2008 police in Esfhan raided a party in a private home and arrested 30 men, who were held indefinitely without a lawyer on suspicion of homosexuality. [http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2008/03/28/iran18385.htm Iran: Private Homes Raided for ‘Immorality’ (Human Rights Watch, 28-3-2008)]

Sex changes to avoid persecution

Filmmaker Tanaz Eshaghian discovered that the government solution for homosexuality is forced sex change operations. The leader of Iran's Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini, issued a fatwa declaring sex changes permissible for “diagnosed transsexuals.” [http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/2008/08/26/f-homosexuality-iran-sex-change.html Iran's gay plan] , Matthew Hays, "Canadian Broadcasting Corporation", August 26, 2008; accessed September 20, 2008.] Eshaghian's documentary, "Be Like Others", chronicles a number of stories of gay men who feel a sex change is the only way to avoid further persecution. The head of Iran's main transsexual organization, Maryam Khatoon Molkara—who convinced Khomeini to issue the fatwa on transsexuality—confirmed that some people who undergo operations are gay rather than transsexual. Only Thailand performs more sex change operations than Iran.

LGBT civil rights

No civil rights legislation exists in Iran to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Depictions of homosexuality are prohibited in society or in the press, unless it is negative. No organization or political party is permitted to exist that endorses LGBT human rights.

The concept of sexual orientation is not recognized in Iran, nor does the judiciary acknowledge the existence of LGBT people and instead believes that all people are normally heterosexual. Thus, they claim that "homosexuality is a violation of the supreme will of their God".

As a result, no laws exist that protect LGBT Iranians from discrimination, harassment, or bias-motivated violence, and as a theocratic political system, no such laws are permitted to exist.Most Iranian LGBT people remain in the closet about their sexual orientation for fear of being the victims of discrimination, hate crimes, government sanctions, corporal punishment, and/or capital punishment.

The only legal recognition for couples is a legal marriage between one male and one female, both Muslim.Fact|date=September 2007 The Islam-based legal system prohibits opposite sex couples from associating in public,Fact|date=September 2007 and dating is taboo.Fact|date=September 2007 Male homosexual couples might be able to pretend that their relationship is platonic, but any type of sexual activity outside of a heterosexual marriage is illegal.

Censorship of literature and history has been documented under the rule of both the Pahlavi dynasty monarchy and the Islamic Republic in Iran. In 2002, a book entitled "Witness Play" by Cyrus Shamisa was banned from shelves (despite being initially approved) because it said that certain notable Persian writers were homosexuals or bisexuals. [ [http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/?ArchiveNews=Yes&NewsCode=12103&NewsKind=CurrentAffairs Iran News - Book on homosexuality ordered off shelves ] ]

LGBT politics

The Iranian clerics will not allow a political party or organization to endorse LGBT human rights, as even if the clerics were to lose the power to exclude candidates from public office, most experts feel that Iranians tend to be deeply homophobic and thus would not support such a campaign. [ [http://www.safraproject.org/Reports/SP_Country_Information_Report_Iran.pdf Microsoft Word - 413B95BE-07FC-18D2E6.doc ] ]

Some opposition political movement in the Iranian diaspora have expressed support for LGBT human rights. The Green Party of Iran has an English translation of its website that states, "Every Iranian citizen is equal by law, regardless of gender, age, race, nationality, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, or political beliefs" and calls for a "separation of state and religion" [http://www.iran-e-sabz.org/program/program.html#equal%20rights] . Likewise, the Worker Communist Party of Iran homepage has an English translation of its manifesto that supports the right of "All adults, women or men" to be "completely free in deciding over their sexual relationships with other adults. Voluntary relationship of adults with each other is their private affair and no person or authority has the right to scrutinize it, interfere with it or make it public" [http://www.wpiran.org/English/english.htm] . Likewise, the leftist Rah-e Karegar Party, the liberal "Marz-e Por Gohar" and the center-right "Constitutionalist Party of Iran" have expressed support for the separation of religion and the state. However, such political organizations are all exiled and thus cannot change the situation in Iran. The Iranian government has taken steps to prevent the spread of AIDS-HIV.

Beginning in the mid-1980s, transgendered individuals have been officially recognized by the government and allowed to undergo sex reassignment surgery. (see: Transsexuality in Iran)

The Iranian military exempts LGBT people from military service, viewing them as having a mental illness, although homosexual conduct or sodomy would be treated as a serious crime under military or civilian law.

Asylum cases

Many middle class Iranians have received an education in a Western nation; there is a small population of gay Iranian immigrants who live in Western nations. However, most attempts by gay Iranians to seek asylum in a foreign country based on the Iranian government's anti-gay policies have failed.

In 2001, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights rejected a plea from an Iranian man who escaped from an Iranian prison after being convicted and sentenced to death for the crime of homosexuality. [ [http://www.hri.ca/fortherecord2003/documentation/tbodies/cat-c-30-d-190-2001.htm For The Record 2003 - United Nations - Treaty Bodies Database - Document - Jurisprudence - Netherlands ] ] Part of the problem with this case was that the man had entered the country illegally and was later convicted of killing his boyfriend, after he discovered that he had been unfaithful.

In 2005, the Japanese government rejected an asylum plea from another Iranian gay man. That same year, the Swedish government also rejected a similar claim by an Iranian gay man, but temporarily halted the man's deportation pending a legal appeal. The Netherlands is also going through a review of its asylum policies in regard to Iranians claiming to be victims of the Iranian government's anti-gay policies.

In 2006, the Netherlands stopped deporting gay men back to Iran temporarily. The UK came under fire for its continued deporting, especially due to news reports documenting gay Iranians who committed suicide when faced with deportation. In March 2006, Dutch Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk said that it was now clear "that there is no question of executions or death sentences based solely on the fact that a defendant is gay", adding that homosexuality was never the primary charge against people. However, in October 2006, after pressure from both within and outside of the Netherlands, Verdonk changed her position and announced that Iranian LGBTs would not be deported. Human Rights Watch has stated that this decision once again put the Netherlands in compliance with international law. [ [http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/10/19/nether14428.htm Netherlands: Asylum Rights Granted to Lesbian and Gay Iranians] ; 2006-10-26; accessed 2007-08-13]

ee also

*Gender Identity Organization of Iran
*Ages of consent in Asia
*Homosexuality
*Human rights in Iran
*Iran
*Judicial system of Iran
*LGBT rights by country
*Sodomy laws
*Transsexuality in Iran
*Be Like Others, a documentary film about transsexuality in Iran

References

* [http://www.faryadmagazine.com/humanity_gay_rights.html The Secret World of Iran's Gay and Lesbian community]

External links

* [http://www.irqo.net IRanian Queer Organization]
* [http://www.globalgayz.com/g-iran.html Global Gayz...Gay Iran]
* [http://gaytoday.badpuppy.com/garchive/interview/052797in.htm Saviz Shafaie]
* [http://www.homanla.org/ HOMAN]
* [http://www.petertatchell.net/international/iranstatemurder.htm Iran – The State-Sponsored Torture & Murder of Lesbians & Gays Men]
* [http://current.com/items/76312142_transsexuality_in_iran Transsexuality in Iran (video report)]
* [http://us.imdb.com/title/tt1157609/ Be Like Others] , 2008 documentary film about homosexuals undergoing sex change surgery
* [http://gayswithoutborders.wordpress.com/ Gays Without Borders]