By Toon Bijnens, ICSSI
The LGBT movement is a worldwide phenomenon. In Iraq, it is far from a movement: the LGBT community remains completely invisible. Although no data on the demographics of the LGBT community is available, a considerable number of people in Iraq are queer – whether they openly identify as such or not – yet they have little or no rights to differ from the norms imposed by patriarchal society. Recognizing that the use of the terms “queer” and “LGBT” is in itself highly problematic since many people who might act queer do not necessarily identify as such for whatever reason, these terms are (in this article) used as an umbrella for anyone breaking the binary, be it in sexuality, gender, or other forms of identity, whether they identify as such or not. Ultimately, the struggle is not about the right to be queer, but the right for any human to differ from the norms imposed by society, and to be themselves.
Violence against LGBTs
Every now and then, Western media will publish some horror story of violence against “gay” people in Iraq. In 2012, international (mostly Western) media were reporting about the killing of “gay” and “emo” people in Iraq. Three years later, in 2015, queer people are no better off in Iraq. Violence inducted on LGBTs in Iraq is some of the worst in the world, and very few people will openly identify as queer. People who do come out in Iraq face violence and death threats. Media are homophobic, and in Baghdad killings are still common and known across the LGBT community, yet are unreported in the media because the authorities are cracking down on those who report the killings ever since the international media attention of 2012 (it is not uncommon for people in government positions to belong homophobic militias). Men who look feminine are being subjugated to humiliation by authorities, police.[1] In Kurdistan the situation is better, with LGBTs fleeing from Baghdad and southern Iraq to the region. Safe houses for LGBTs exist in Kurdistan, and transgenders can live relatively more in the open. On the other hand, the situation for LGBTs in Kurdistan is far from the (relative) tolerance that exists in the Kurdish region of Turkey, where some LGBT activists operate in public. Parliamentarians such as Sebahat Tuncel of the Kurdish political party HDP advocate for LGBT rights, and an openly gay candidate, Baris Sulu, ran for parliament for the in the June 2015 Turkish elections. In the other parts of Kurdistan, including Iraq, society is much more conservative towards LGBTs. Even the Syrian-Kurdish region of Rojava, championed for its egalitarian society inclusive of women, has not hinted of any tolerance towards LGBTs. On the contrary, LGBTs are not allowed in the YPG (People’s Defense Units) and are seen in the same category as child molesters, criminals and murders.[2] In Iraq, due to the crackdown, LGBTs remain completely invisible, yet civil society is aware of their existence and their dire situation. The civil movement in Iraq has been facing great hardship recently, yet the number of civil society organizations still number in thousands. As such, one may ask the question: where are the LGBT activists, or those who stand up for LGBT rights?
Iraqi LGBTs need to tell their own story
In Iraq, queer people meet each other through friends. Only a very small number use dating websites or dating apps which are popular in the West. LGBTs rely mostly on their personal network. Because society and authorities are extremely hostile, there is very little trust even among each other, so perhaps one cannot even speak of a queer community as such. Blackmail is common, even among LGBTs.[3] HIV is creating even more distrust among Iraqi LGBTs. There is a huge stigma on the disease, and those who are HIV-infected do not come out, since they are afraid. They will take a HIV test (often under a fake name), but will not disclose their status to other LGBTs, let alone urge anyone else to take the test.[4] Furthermore, most of them still engage in intercourse, hereby contributing to the expansion of the disease. It is hard to create any sense of community, let alone activism, in this atmosphere of distrust. No LGBT networks exist in Iraq. Although all queer people are aware of the discrimination and violence committed against them, there is little knowledge since most violations remain undocumented. The most important step for LGBTs in Iraq now is to build community awareness and networks, and to document human rights violations.
Because their own community remains mostly invisible, the story of Iraqi LGBTs has so far been told mostly by outsiders, whether it is non-Iraqis (mostly westerners) or non-LGBTs. Recently, this was all too obvious when Western media reported about the killing of supposed “gays” by Daesh. Two men were executed in January 2015 for having committed “the act of the people of Lot”, which implies sodomy. There was no evidence to assume the men identified as gay, and such an identity is definitely not recognized by Daesh. This is all very reminiscent of when Western media reported of the 2012 emo killings in Iraq, which were immediately labeled as “gay” killings, even though the violence targeted effeminate looking men, and not gay people as such. Western Media are quick to twist the facts to support their own “West vs. Muslim world” narrative, simplifying and ignoring the fabrics of Iraqi society. Well-known Middle-Eastern authors and activists who attempted to write about LGBTs in the Middle-Eastern region (such as Shereen el Feki) haven proven to be ill-suited as well since they write from a non-LGBT, outsider’s perspective. Other gender activists and feminists from the region ignore the issue of LGBTs (such as Mona Eltahawy). This underscores the need for Iraqi LGBTs to come out and tell their own story in Iraq.
LGBT activism in Iraq
Though any Iraqi LGBT movement will need allies within civil society, and the women’s rights movement is a natural partner, it is important for a queer community to be well-developed and visible in order to stand up for their own rights without relying completely on other activists. Certainly, LGBTs will celebrate femininity together with women’s activists, but most of all they advocate for the acception of all genders and sexualities. Furthermore, LGBT activism is important for civil society because it goes far beyond identity politics. There are many other related issues in Iraqi society that urgently need to be addressed. I mentioned HIV earlier, which is mostly ignored by authorities and society. At the same time, it is not well-known that men are subjected to harassment as well. This happens in public places, but people are afraid to talk about it out of fear for stigmatization. Male trafficking has been taking place in Baghdad and some men are forced to engage in sexual acts. These issues are in fact not related to any specific gender or sexual orientation, but are problems of Iraqi society as a whole. In today’s Iraq these issues remain mostly obscured, yet they are addressed by the LGBT movement.
In Lebanon, LGBT activists advocate for the abolishment of the article in the penal code that criminalizes homosexuality, while some local civil society groups document human rights violations of LGBTs, and advocate for the acceptance of homosexuality. In Iraq however, the situation is different. To openly advocate for the abolishment of the penal code against homosexuality would be as much as signing a death warrant in a country where honor killings and attacks against queer people are not uncommon. Iraqi LGBT activists therefore operate either openly from abroad, or in secret within Iraq. Their activism is mostly about community building and claiming a public space for Iraq’s LGBTs. The first post-2003 Iraqi LGBT organization was Ali Hilli’s IraqiLGBT, based in London, spreading awareness on the violence committed against LGBTs, and raising funds to provide assistance to those who are persecuted. The organization however proved to be unreliable, and has not been active since 2010. Since no other LGBT networks exist in Iraq, queer Iraqis will have to count on other civil society groups to strengthen their cause until their own LGBT organizations are founded and able to operate. Currently only very few women’s rights organizations provide support to LGBTs, such as the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq. Being a women’s activist in Iraq is very risky, since they are exposed to violence and threats. They do not openly advocate for LGBT rights but provide shelter to LGBT Iraqis who are being threatened, and in some cases collect testimonies and other documentation for international organizations. Foreign NGOs and human rights organizations who operate in Iraq generally avoid the subject, as to not jeopardize their operations. There are international organizations and networks who have tried to create a sense of awareness of the terrible state of LGBT rights in Iraq, such as Gays Without Borders or Amnesty International. Women’s Organization MADRE has been documenting the situation in Iraq, releasing recently two reports in 2014. However, these have only been issued in English and not in Arabic. As such, one can question their reach. The Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project has been advocating internationally for the rights of Iraqi LGBT refugees (a notable success was a change of asylum policy for LGBT Iraqis in the Netherlands) and assisting LGBTs within Iraq with migration.
A community is coming out
In a positive development, Iraqi LGBTs are taking matters into their own hands. Recently in March 2015, a new initiative was founded: Iraqueer.com, a “platform led by a group of queer/queer minded young people from Iraq and Kurdistan”. The website shares personal testimonies of LGBTs in Iraq, news items related to the LGBT struggle, an in-depth articles. The group consists of about ten persons from all over Iraq, of different backgrounds (sexualities, religions, ethnicities). Though the founder is operating from abroad (having fled the country since he received death threats), most of the other contributors are operating from within Iraq. Their identities are kept secret, for their own safety. The website is very important since for the first time Iraqi LGBT activists have set up an initiative from within their own country to advance their rights. Iraqueer.com will create more awareness on the existence of the LGBT community and the violations committed against them. It also serves as an incentive for queer people in the whole of Iraq to connect with each other, via Iraqueer.com, and as such it is perhaps a first step to a nationwide Iraqi LGBT network. Complementary social media pages are in operation. In a society where many people are even afraid to like a Facebook page on equal rights for LGBTs, such an initiative is enormously important.
The gay movement in Iraq is at a very early stage. LGBTs in Iraq will need to invest in community-building, on a nationwide scale, to improve their self-confidence and to create a sense of community among Iraqi LGBTs. Their human rights violations need to be documented, and the community will have to raise awareness publicly in order to build alliances with non-LGBT communities and civil society organizations. Though international solidarity is needed, and an Iraqi LGBT community integrated in the global movement is extremely important, the Iraqi LGBT community does not necessarily have to follow the same path as the Western movement, since both are in different stages. Whereas over past decade the most important issue for western LGBT activists seems to be gay marriage, this issue is a million miles away from the Iraqi reality, where queer people face death threats for coming out and the most important issue right is now is to just openly be themselves, without wanting to change traditional institutions. Some activists believe in a different strategy, from the one pursued by the LGBT movement in the West, whereby they opt for a more inclusive and less radical approach. The aim is of LGBTs in Iraq is to be able to be accepted and to be, in the words of the founder of Iraqueer.com “human beings first”, without wanting to tear down traditional institutions such as religion, family, marriage, presenting themselves as human beings first, and not as a threat to the values of Iraqi society. Ultimately, this is not so much about the rights of a particular group, but about the right to be different, from heteronormativity, masculinity, and all other societal norms. LGBTs in Iraq demand human rights for every individual in Iraqi society, LGBTs and non-LGBTs. They stand for a heterogeneous Iraq, an Iraq that celebrates its diversity.
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[1] Videos depicting humiliation of transgenders are well-known among LGBTs in Iraq.
[2] Via social media they explicitly stated they allow neither “gays”, nor “child molesters, criminals and murders”.
[3] Some people will see their name and picture appear on social media.
[4] Even though some doctors might be understanding when mentioning indirectly the topic of homosexuality – especially in more liberal places such as Sulaymaniyah – there is still a widespread fear that these issues are not kept private and that doctors will talk. A comprehensive blood test is not reliable in Iraq. Medication is available, but it is extremely expensive. The government does not provide any funding. Lebanon is a popular destination for those who are HIV-infected, since there is proper medication available. Doctors claim to receive many patients from Iraq.