Transsexuality in Iran
Encyclopedia
Before the Islamic Revolution
in 1979, the issue of transsexuality in Iran had never been officially addressed by the government. Beginning in the mid-1980s, however, transsexual individuals were officially recognized by the government and allowed to undergo sex reassignment surgery
. As of 2008, Iran
carries out more sex change operations than any other nation in the world except for Thailand
. The government provides up to half the cost for those needing financial assistance, and a sex change is recognised on the birth certificate.
wrote a book in which he stated that there was no religious restriction on corrective surgery. At the time Khomeini was a radical, anti-Shah revolutionary and his fatwa
s did not carry any weight with the Imperial government, which did not have any specific policies regarding transsexual individuals.
s and lesbian
s, who were condemned by Islam
and faced the punishment of lashing and death under Iran's penal code.
One early campaigner for transsexual rights was Maryam Hatoon Molkara
, who was formerly male and known as Fereydoon. Before the revolution, she had longed to become physically female but could not afford surgery and wanted religious authorization. In 1975, she began to write letters to Ayatollah Khomeini, who was to become the leader of the revolution and was in exile
. After the revolution, she was fired, forcedly injected with male hormone
s, and institutionalized. She was later released with help from her connections and continued to lobby many other leaders. Later she went to see Khomeini, who had returned to Iran. During this visit, she was subjected to beatings from his guards. Khomeini, however, did give her a letter to authorize her sex reassignment operation, which she later did in 1997 . Due to this fatwa, issued in 1987, transsexuals in Iran have been able to live as women until they can afford surgery, have surgical reassignment, have their birth certificates and all official documents issued to them in their new gender, and get married to men.
Hojatoleslam Kariminia, a mid-level cleric who is in favor of transsexual rights, has stated that he wishes "to suggest that the right of transsexuals to change their gender is a human right" and that he is attempting to "introduce transsexuals to the people through my work and in fact remove the stigma or the insults that is attach to these people."
UNHCR's 2001 report says that sex reassignment surgery
is performed frequently and openly in Iran, and that homosexual and cross-dressing people, although unrelated to transsexualism, would be safe as long as they keep a low profile. However, the Safra Project's 2004 report considers UNHCR's report over-optimistic. The Safra Project's report suggests that UNHCR underestimated legal pressure over transsexual and LGBT
matters.
The report further states that currently, it is not possible for presumed transsexual individuals to choose not to undergo surgery - if they are approved for sex reassignment, they are expected to undergo treatment immediately. Those who wish to remain "non-operative" (as well as those who cross-dress and/or identify as genderqueer
) are considered their biological gender, and as such they are likely to face harassment as being homosexuals and subject to the same laws barring homosexual acts
.
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
in 1979, the issue of transsexuality in Iran had never been officially addressed by the government. Beginning in the mid-1980s, however, transsexual individuals were officially recognized by the government and allowed to undergo sex reassignment surgery
Sex reassignment surgery
Sex reassignment surgery is a term for the surgical procedures by which a person's physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are altered to resemble...
. As of 2008, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
carries out more sex change operations than any other nation in the world except for Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. The government provides up to half the cost for those needing financial assistance, and a sex change is recognised on the birth certificate.
Pre-1979
In 1963, Ayatollah Ruhollah KhomeiniRuhollah Khomeini
Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini was an Iranian religious leader and politician, and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran...
wrote a book in which he stated that there was no religious restriction on corrective surgery. At the time Khomeini was a radical, anti-Shah revolutionary and his fatwa
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
s did not carry any weight with the Imperial government, which did not have any specific policies regarding transsexual individuals.
After the Revolution
The new religious government that came to be established after the 1979 Iranian Revolution classed transsexuals and transvestites with gayGay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
s and lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
s, who were condemned by Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and faced the punishment of lashing and death under Iran's penal code.
One early campaigner for transsexual rights was Maryam Hatoon Molkara
Maryam Hatoon Molkara
Maryam Hatoon Molkara is a campaigner for the rights of transsexuals in Iran. She was instrumental in obtaining a letter which acted as a Fatwā enabling sex change operations to exist as part of a legal framework.-References:...
, who was formerly male and known as Fereydoon. Before the revolution, she had longed to become physically female but could not afford surgery and wanted religious authorization. In 1975, she began to write letters to Ayatollah Khomeini, who was to become the leader of the revolution and was in exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
. After the revolution, she was fired, forcedly injected with male hormone
Hormone
A hormone is a chemical released by a cell or a gland in one part of the body that sends out messages that affect cells in other parts of the organism. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism. In essence, it is a chemical messenger that transports a signal from one...
s, and institutionalized. She was later released with help from her connections and continued to lobby many other leaders. Later she went to see Khomeini, who had returned to Iran. During this visit, she was subjected to beatings from his guards. Khomeini, however, did give her a letter to authorize her sex reassignment operation, which she later did in 1997 . Due to this fatwa, issued in 1987, transsexuals in Iran have been able to live as women until they can afford surgery, have surgical reassignment, have their birth certificates and all official documents issued to them in their new gender, and get married to men.
Contemporary status
Khomeini's original fatwa has since been reconfirmed by the current leader of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and is also supported by many other Iranian clerics. However, there is still a great deal of stigma attached to the idea of transsexualism and gender reassignment in ordinary Iranian society, and most transsexuals, after completing their transition, are advised to maintain discretion about their past. Once a transsexual individual has undergone sex reassignment, that person legally becomes the new sex - male, in the case of transsexual men, and female, in the case of transsexual women. All legal documents, such as birth certificates and passports, are also changed accordingly.Hojatoleslam Kariminia, a mid-level cleric who is in favor of transsexual rights, has stated that he wishes "to suggest that the right of transsexuals to change their gender is a human right" and that he is attempting to "introduce transsexuals to the people through my work and in fact remove the stigma or the insults that is attach to these people."
UNHCR's 2001 report says that sex reassignment surgery
Sex reassignment surgery
Sex reassignment surgery is a term for the surgical procedures by which a person's physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are altered to resemble...
is performed frequently and openly in Iran, and that homosexual and cross-dressing people, although unrelated to transsexualism, would be safe as long as they keep a low profile. However, the Safra Project's 2004 report considers UNHCR's report over-optimistic. The Safra Project's report suggests that UNHCR underestimated legal pressure over transsexual and LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
matters.
The report further states that currently, it is not possible for presumed transsexual individuals to choose not to undergo surgery - if they are approved for sex reassignment, they are expected to undergo treatment immediately. Those who wish to remain "non-operative" (as well as those who cross-dress and/or identify as genderqueer
Genderqueer
Genderqueer is a catch-all term for gender identities other than man and woman, thus outside of the gender binary and heteronormativity...
) are considered their biological gender, and as such they are likely to face harassment as being homosexuals and subject to the same laws barring homosexual acts
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
.
See also
- List of transgender-related topics
- LGBT rights in IranLGBT rights in IranLGBT rights in Iran since the Iranian Revolution of 1979 have come in conflict with the penal code, with international human rights groups claiming floggings and death sentences of lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals. Transsexuality in Iran is legal if accompanied by a sex change operation;...
- Be Like OthersBe Like OthersBe Like Others is a 2008 documentary film written and directed by Tanaz Eshaghian about transsexuals in Iran. It explores issues of gender and sexuality while following the personal stories of some of the patients at a Tehran clinic...
, a documentary film about transsexuality in Iran
External links
- Iran's 'diagnosed transexuals' (BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, 25 February 2008) - http://www.irtg.info
- http://www.iranian.com/Najmabadi/2005/January/Sex/
- http://montages.blogspot.com/2004/08/changing-sex-changing-islam.html
- http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TSsuccesses/Maryam/Maryam.html
- Transsexuality in Iran (video report)