IranPride Day

IranPride Day
روز افتخار رنگین‌کمانی‌های ایران
IranPride Day Logo
Frequency Annual, fourth Friday of July
Country Iran
Inaugurated 23 July 2010 (2010-07-23)
Most recent 28 July 2018 (2018-07-28)
Next event 26 July 2019 (2019-07-26)
Website iranlgbt.com
IranPride day 2016 English poster

IranPride Day (Persian: روز افتخار ایران‎) is an annual event held on the fourth Friday of July (Persian: اولین جمعه مرداد‎) celebrating the diversity and identity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and other LGBT people in Iran.[1][2][3]

History

In Iran, homosexual behavior is punishable by death.[2] According to Omar Kuddus, a UK-based Iranian gay rights activist, the Iranian government also uses trumped-up charges to execute and persecute gay people while disguising their actions from the international community. In 2007, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denied that there were gay Iranians.[4] Nevertheless, a small group of 20 to 30 LGBT activists, calling themselves "Rainbows" (Persian: رنگین‌کمانی‌ها‎), has been celebrating IranPride Day since 2010.[5][6]

The day was first announced by a group of Iranian LGBT activists on a blog on July 2010.[1][7] Every year, Iranian LGBT activists gathered around the capital, Tehran, and secretly took pictures of themselves holding rainbow flags and messages of tolerance. They had to hide their faces to avoid police harassment and possible prosecution.[2] Activists have taken photos of the event in other cities, including Kerman.[4] In 2017, for the first time, the organizers decided to hold the event in the open when they were offered the first float in the Amsterdam Gay Pride parade, although they had to cover their faces in order to avoid prosecution upon their return to Iran. About the 2017 event, organizers said, "Our grief is not dimmed, but we, the rainbows of Iran are screaming our happiness as a shape of resistance and we keep our euphoria alive as the torch of justice".[2]

Name

The event was first called Iranian LGBT National Day (Persian: روز ملی اقلیت‌های جنسی ایرانی‎).[4][8] Later, the event was known by other names such as Iranian Queers National Day (Persian: روز ملی دگرباشان‎)[9], Iran LGBT Day (Persian: روز رنگین‌کمانی‌های ایران‎) and, finally, IranPride Day (Persian: روز افتخار ایران‎).

Coverage

A week after the first celebration in July 2010, Resalat, a conservative newspaper in Iran, published an article about the event.[10] This article was picked up by several popular conservative media outlets in the country.[11][12][13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 توکلی, نیاز. "یادداشتی پیرامون روز ملی اقلیت‌های جنسی ایرانی". رادیو زمانه.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Gremore, Graham (27 July 2017). "After holding 'Secret Pride' for years, Iranian LGBTQs plan to publicly march for the first time". Queerty. Since 2010, they have been holding a "secret Pride" every summer
  3. ↑ Hoff, Victor (27 July 2012). "Merry National Day Of Sexual Minorities, Iran!". Queerty. Annual National Day of Sexual Minorities in Iran, when members of the country's LGBT community and their allies declare a measure of personal freedom in the repressive country
  4. 1 2 3 Littauer, Dan (27 July 2012). "Iran gays celebrate national LGBT day". Gay Star News.
  5. ↑ Pedram, Hamed. "Witness Statement of Hamed, an Iranian homosexual". Iran Human Rights Documentation Center.
  6. ↑ "درباره رنگین‌کمانی‌ها". روز رنگین‌کمانی‌های ایرانی (in Persian).
  7. ↑ "اولین جمعه مرداد، روز ملی رنگین‌کمانی‌های ایرانی". IranWire (in Persian).
  8. ↑ "گزارشی از مراسم بزرگداشت روز ملی اقلیت‌های جنسی در ایران" (in Persian). سایت خبری راه کارگر.
  9. ↑ Ghahreman, Saghi. "در ستایش بزرگسالی". مجله چراغ (in Persian).
  10. ↑ "ايراني نماهاي همجنس گرا هم صاحب روز اختصاصي شدند!!!" (in Persian). روزنامه رسالت.
  11. ↑ "تعیین روز برای همجنس‌گرایان ایرانی". تابناک (in Persian).
  12. ↑ "تعیین روز برای همجنسگرایان ایرانی". الف (in Persian).
  13. ↑ "تعیین روز ملی برای همجنس‌گرایان ایرانی!". فرارو (in Persian).
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