LGBTQ rights in Iran

Common card · No. 263788

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Iran face severe challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Sexual activity between members of the same sex is illegal and can be punishable by death. Contrastingly, people can legally change their sex at birth, though only through sex reassignment surgery. LGBTQ rights in Iran have come in conflict with the penal code since the 1930s. In post-revolutionary Iran, any type of sexual activity outside a heterosexual marriage is forbidden. Same-sex sexual activities are punishable by imprisonment, corporal punishment, fines, or execution. Gay men have faced stricter enforcement actions under the law than lesbians. The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is considered to be one of the most discriminatory towards homosexuals in the world. It is estimated that hundreds or thousands of people were executed in the immediate aftermath of the 1979 revolution of whom some 20 were homosexuals. Transgender identity is recognized...

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