Category: On Books and Publishing

“We know how to take care of our own.”

Arsham Parsi is the head of the IRQO (Iranian Queer Organization).  Parsi was born in 1980.  As he tells it, he grew up in Shiraz with no contact with other gay people until he found queer communities on the Internet.  Following that, he worked on HIV issues, until rumors of his sexual orientation began to spread and he feared persecution.  According to Human Rights Watch, “Iranian law punishes all penetrative sexual acts between adult men with the death penalty.”  Reports indicate that women and lesbians also endure lack of access to equal rights and persecution.  Parsi fled to Turkey and then to Canada, where he applied for asylum.  Today, according to Parsi, IRQO works for the decriminalization of homosexuality in Iran, and to increase awareness about queer issues among Iranians.

Growing up queer does not mean giving up the struggle for a better, more contentious, and a more just world.

“The  Limits of the Third: The Hijra of India and the Conditions of Castration.”

Mediations, vol.  20 (Fall 1996)

http://www.mediationsjournal.org/

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