Asia is not a predictable or cohesive collection of countries, especially with regards to queer people’s human rights. While India and Nepal are making strides in regards to LGBTQ human rights, there are other parts of Asia where the threat to queer people’s danger is more blatant. While the repeal of section 377 in India has seemingly made India more comfortable for many queer people, and Nepal has legalized queer marriages, queer people in Iran are still suffering the extremes.
News came on Monday, September 5th, 2011 that three men have been executed for violating anti-sodomy laws. Iran Human Rights has been watching and reporting these tragic incidents. Sharia judges have a lot of power in deciding who, why and how to execute. These judges often order for people who violate anti-sodomy laws to be executed for charges such as rape, but these three men were explicitly executed for “homosexual acts.”
Like many other countries, while surface-level efforts have been made to provide queer people with more rights and protection, it is not a simple story with a happy ending. For more information about LGBTQ issues in Iran, read Brian Whitaker’s article from December 15th, 2010, in the Guardian.
