By : Mehrnaz Khojasteh

On July 19^th 2006, the Persian Gay and Lesbian Organization held an event in Hart House, University of Toronto to commemorate the first anniversary of the two teenagers who were executed in Mashhad, Iran. The event attracted around sixty gay and lesbian activists and reporters from CBC, Fab Magazine, Extra Magazine, Shahrvand publication and Radio Farda. The lecture topics and their timing were well chosen as the session started with a focous on problems and challenges, and ended with discussions of achievements and hopes. 

Mr. Arsham Parsi, the Secretary-General of the Persian Gay and Lesbian Organization, opened the session by welcoming the lecturers and guests; and gave a brief talk in memory of the two teenagers who were unjustly sanctioned to death.

After him, Dr. Victoria Tahmsebi, a professor at the University of Toronto, gave her talk on the tragic situation of homosexual people in the homophobic society of Iran. She explained how Iranian homosexual people have to go through their lives with the constant fear of imprisonment, torture and death.

Ms. Niaz Salimi, the President of the Canadian Muslim Congress, was the next lecturer. She put the main focous of her lecture on lesbians’ experiences of discrimination. At first, Ms. Salimi explained how patriarchy has historically denied women the autonomy to control their bodies and lives, and has pressured them to fit the patriarchal, heterosexual standard of a ‘docile’ woman. Lesbians, along with all other women who failed to conform to the patriarchal, heterosexual norm, were thought of as abnormal, and treated or punished accordingly. Ms. Salimi then tried to show how the intersections of gender and sexual orientation expose lesbian women to compounded forms of discrimination. Lesbians experience sexism and homophobia simultaneously and a strong response to this discrimination needs an integrated movement that embraces not just gender but also sexual orientation and all other identity markers such as race, ethnicity, religion, and age. 

The next speaker was Mr. Al-Farok Khaki, the President of Salam Organization, which is a Muslim Queer Organization. Mr. Khaki gave a historical overview of Salam’s origins and activities. Salam was originally founded in the City of San Francisco in 1993 as a Muslim Queer Organization with the purpose of raising awareness about issues of sexuality among Muslims, and challenging the often unquestioned presumptions about Quranic condemnation of homosexuality. Traditionalists usually refer to the story of Nabi Lut as a condemnation for homosexuality. As Mr. Khaki explained however, the actual text is open to many other interpretations. In fact, in no section, the text touches explicitly upon the issue of homosexuality and the moral of the story seems to be more about consensual sex, and rape than homosexuality. Aside from these religious controversies, Mr. Khaki emphasized that the Muslim Queer Organization supports LGBT people from more a human rights perspective than a theological perspective.

The final speaker was Mr. Glen Murray, the former mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Mr. Murray was the first openly gay mayor in a large North American city. He expressed his deep concern for millions of homosexual people who are under systematic oppression and discrimination, and subjected to violence and extermination. Mr. Murray talked about a time that Canada also criminalized homosexual activity; and reminded the audience that this was not a long time ago at all. When he was ten years old, engaging in a homosexual activity was sufficient grounds for impeachment and imprisonment. Today after 35 years of social and political struggle, however, homosexuals are allowed to marry, adopt a child and be protected against homophobia. Challenges remain, yet the massive reforms that have taken place in Canada prove that social activism and education campaigns can be successful in bringing about social tolerance, and political reform

It was the loss of two innocent victims of homophobia and state-sanctioned murder that brought thousands of us around the world together, yet it is our lively belief in life, liberation and love that gives us our strength. It is our spirited struggle for diversity and equity that holds us all together. People often jump from the state of denial to despair, first rejecting the existence of problem and then the possibility of change. Events like the one described above attempt to show that between these two extreme positions exists a vast area and opportunity for social influence and change for the better.