یادداشت های روزانه ی یک دزد

Queer Students’ Letter addressed to Students’ Movement

and other Movements of Civil Society

(in accordance with May 17, International Day Against Homophobia)

Translation by Saghi Ghahraman

The Iranian university Student Movement has been acting for more than seventy years, and along these years, in the absence of democracy, symbolically took upon the role of defender of freedom and people’s human rights; many times had the role of enlightening and inspiring to the civil campaigns.

University Student Movement during its activity got affected from modernism and affected in turn people’s thoughts and political beliefs. The Student Movement has been a pioneer to support and defend all other social movements and various deprived minorities, and in relating and identifying with their cause. University students and academics have also been the source of many intellectual and social movements in the society.

On the day against homophobia, this letter addresses the Iranian university students activists.

Since people’s social demands have brought together all human rights movements in our country, thus it is not likely for the human rights activists, civil society activists and intellectuals, and everyone involved in the challenge of raising political awareness amongst people, specially in midst of a presidential elections campaigns, vigilant to make sure crucial decisions made today will not embarrass the next generation, not be the recipient of this letter also. 

On the day against homophobia, the recipient of this letter is whoever profoundly thinking about amendments of the Iranian society, with no interest for office but with concern for fairness and social justice.

On the other days of the year, Iranian homosexual students have stayed in line with different student groups, women’s movement, social demonstrations, civil rights activists’ displays, and intellectual meetings. Today, this letter addresses our colleagues and friends in the university student movement. The student movement must be a safe home for all students regardless of race, religion, language, and gender.

Does the student movement still wishes to ignore the variety of students existing in body of the movement?

Does it still wishes to go on pretending There Are No Homosexual Students in Iran?

During the years, we stayed with you and we will stay by your side. If you do not know our names, it is because of our covering up of the dominant prejudices and judgments that exist in the inner layers of the student movement which never tolerated homosexuality. Today, after all these years, we believe that if the leader and the government claim that we, homosexuals, do not exist in our own country, they are walking in the same old prejudiced policies. However, our demand of the student movement, in line with the movements’ essential ideals and policies is that it do not deny our existence, do not ignore our presence, and do not walk by us and the injustices conducted against us, indifferently or unknowingly.

We, Iranian homosexual students, have been working side by side the student and intellectual movement, and we are present in the context of social and political demands, and we are keen defenders of changes in the unequal circumstances in Iranian society. Now that all human right activists and kindheartedly, and defenders of human rights have found out that homosexual rights are human rights, and fighting toward their rights is fighting for human rights – regardless of color of skin, religion, social class, gender, and sexual orientation – and now that the indifferences of the previous generation towards social oppressions and unwise political beliefs are gone, we, the homosexual students in a number of universities in Iran perceive  this as our historical mission to enlighten our people and our classmates against cruelties and harassment still being carried out and still being against some of the children of this country.

Homosexuality has been removed from the list of mental disorders for years, and free minded free spirited people in the world have paid political awareness to it. One can name many great homosexual people in the world that their sexuality did not stop them from adding to the richness of culture and science of the world, and also, their sexuality did not bar them from receiving recognition and appreciation in the civilized world. However, in Iran and other unprivileged countries restricted from enjoying social freedom and human rights, homosexuals are condemn to the most barbaric and horrible tortures and harassments and injustices done to homosexuals, and yet no one feels obliged to open their realistic eyes to the virtual hangings that happens today to Iranian homosexuals.

Even though sexual orientation is innate and natural, and homosexuals like heterosexuals do not chose their sexuality but are born with it, the Iranian society still alleges homosexuals with the sin of homosexuality, which is in fact their benign nature.

Friends! Classmates! Homophobia has spread its dark shadow over our private and social life with such intensity that simple breathing even is rather difficult for us. Our only fault is, like everyone else, to live in accordance with our innate. Our homosexual nature leads us to wish for a partner of the same sex. Our nature, on the other hand, leads us to a part and an active and responsive part of society. We believe that we should take on more responsibilities inside the student movement and people’s struggles for freedom, gender equality and social justice. Or further responsibilities already-taken-upon ourselves with a state of mind assured of solidarity and tolerance inside the student movement.

Is the student movement the shelter for all students regardless of their sexuality? This is not a question but a pleading for justice.

We, the Iranian homosexual students demand that the student movement, for the first time in the modern history of Iran, during these days of presidential election, with the commotion to eliminate violence’s to human and civil rights in Iran, on the named to support homosexuals rights, to acknowledge the existence of homosexual students in universities, and believe in the presence of homosexuals students in the boundless student movement countrywide, accept the fact of  homosexuals in society and challenges they face, and take necessary steps to maintain social respect to homosexuals.

After these many years, the assumption is, based on the identity and characteristics of this movement that the movement, and its spokes persons, its media, and websites, engage in dialogue about homosexuals, citizens who have been suppressed in their own homeland, and speak up and step forward in expressing respect to their rights. It is best and only fair if this step is taken first and most by the student movement.

It is a timely question to ask: Why the student movement has turned a blind eye on homosexual students, and harassments they endure in supposedly non-violent environments?

We, homosexual students on Iran, urge you, the body of movement in Iran, to have a look at gender and sexuality-based policies that the Islamic Republic of Iran performs, to include criticizing these policies in your Requirements; we are certain that improving it will do good to all the social layers and groups in our country and will result in paybacks, in liberation. We, homosexual students of Iran, urge you, our brothers and sisters in all political and social movements, who are suffering from laws consisting of severe intolerance and ignorance of people’s very right to live, to include in that scenery you have in mind for our country’s future, Respect for all human beings notwithstanding diversity in sexual orientation and gender identity and Appreciation of divergences in human beings.

This requirement is set forth in a manner of grave surprise and insistence, specially because in the few extensive Students’ Requirement-Based Statements, Iranian LGBT community’s rights hasn’t been mentioned once; not in University based Requirements, not in massive social and political Requirements, and not even in The Ten Requirements and The Twenty Requirements.

If institutions identifying as Students Movement Activists are not able to act responsibly towards the absence of LGBT rights in the sphere of Political and Religious Alternative-Thinkers Rights in their statements, they must await the day when they too, like the present governing body of Iran, involve in acts of prejudice and violence against diversity, and deny equality and social justice.

In these days, where People’s Requirements has brought together civil movements in Iran, and is blurring borders between civil, intellectual, students and women’s movement, the community of homosexuals of Iran, who has been  furthering their serious and systematic struggle for over 20 years under harsh situations and with the least of possibilities and in bloodiest eras stripped even of the merest security and privacy personal or social, aside from their expectations from the students movement, ask other movements of Iranian society to acknowledge the presence of homosexuals among themselves and Pay Attention to the Absence of the Rights of Homosexuals.

Let’s learn together in social and political movements this lesson that human rights are common and universal rights in which exclusiveness and divisionism is the first instance of digression of the notion of freedom.

For the sake of learning and teaching, what we expect, at this level, from the students’ movement is as follows: Raising awareness of the importance and urgency of Respect for all sexual minority groups amongst students and in the society as a whole;

Cover news regarding harassments, arrests, beatings, persecutions, rape, and contempt to human dignity and violating homosexual students rights inside universities by the hands of security officials, administrative and educational officials, and other students, and publish it in the movements’ own media and news channels (websites, bulletins, and student newspapers etc…);

Include in their programs and campaigns serious critics of government politics regarding suppressing of homosexuals and other sexual minority groups rights, discriminating and unjust laws and regulations concerning sexual minorities in civil laws and penal codes of the country;

Include in their programs and campaigns organizing of conferences and seminars associated and related with sexuality at large, bring forward discourses in relation with raising awareness regarding sexuality, publishing articles regarding sexual orientation and gender identity, and bring forward issues in relation with human and civil rights of homosexuals and other branches of sexual orientation and gender identity;

By choosing constructive projects in raising awareness in the urgency of having respect for homosexuals and other sexual minority groups, and actually practicing it in their deeds and manners, dispose of discriminatory and oppressive traditions concerning sexual orientations, criticize homophobic conduct, open doors to include as many homosexual students as possible in the body of the student movement and related civil movements in likewise stages;

Homosexual students’ generous and patient understanding of the obstacles and political barriers of the student movement does not mean acceptance of discriminations and intolerance coming from the student movement regarding homosexual students and the LGBT community.

The day will come when all women, workers, children, students, homosexuals, religious and language and ethnic minorities and every single one Iran people are able, are able to live freely in their own country, and do not have to suffer inhumane and meaningless social and political and economical barriers. The day will come when dignity of every human being is well guarded and well respected. 

In the Name of Freedom

Queer Students of:  

University of Political Law and science Tehran University;

University of Literature and Social Sciences Tehran University;

University of Fine Arts Tehran University;

Industrial University of Amir Kabir;

Free University Central Tehran Unit;

Free University Science and Research Unit;

University of Shahhid Rejaee’s Teachers Training College;

Industrial University of Sharif;

Technical University of Shahid Chamran, City of Kerman;

Shahid Chamran’s University Teachers Training College;

University of Shahid BaHonar

 May 2009