The regime’s encouragement of sex-change surgery is related to its intolerance of homosexuality
early on that I was gay,” says Soly, a 25-year-old chef from Tehran. As a young boy, he would strut about the house in his mother’s high heels and developed crushes on male cartoon characters. But after he was expelled from school for wearing eye-liner, his parents took him to a psychologist who offered a different explanation. “He told me I was transgender and had to change my sex.”
Attitudes towards sexuality can be rigid in Iran. A conservative former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, once declared that the country didn’t have any gay people. So it seems an unlikely hub for sex-reassignment surgery. But the procedure has been permitted since the mid-1980s, when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini met a trans woman called Maryam Khatoon Molkara, who had been thrown into a psychiatric institution and forcibly injected with male hormones.
Before going under the knife, patients must receive counselling to ensure that they have gender dysphoria and are prepared for the procedure. But often this process is rushed and standards are not properly observed. Shahryar Cohanzad, a urologist who performs the operation, received 75 referrals in 2017, but only operated on 12 people, having concluded that 63 were gay or confused due to a lack of information.
Even though the clerics allow it, those who transition say there is still a stigma associated with being transgender in Iran. Some tell of being disowned by their families and having to work as prostitutes, for lack of other choices. “For almost four years after my transition no theatre director hired me,” says Saman Arastoo, a well-known transgender actor and director.
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
Similar News:Vous pouvez également lire des articles d'actualité similaires à celui-ci que nous avons collectés auprès d'autres sources d'information.
Iran says oil market supply/demand balance is fragileThe balance between supply and demand in the oil market is fragile, Iranian Oil ...
Lire la suite »
US considering additional Iran sanctions, perhaps in May, official saysThe additional sanctions against Iran that would target areas of its economy that have not been hit before.
Lire la suite »
Iran floods force evacuations as U.S. denies sanctions harming aid effortsIranian authorities ordered the evacuation of scores of villages on Tuesday as t...
Lire la suite »
Three importers cut Iran oil shipments to zero: U.S. envoyThree of eight importers granted waivers by Washington to buy oil from Iran have...
Lire la suite »
Iran-linked Twitter accounts spread anti-Saudi sentiments in Arabic, report findsResearchers found that the accounts targeting Arabic speakers used “very outdated' tactics.
Lire la suite »
U.S. considering additional Iran sanctions, perhaps in May: officialThe U.S. government is considering additional sanctions against Iran that would ...
Lire la suite »
Oil rises on Iran sanctions threat, Venezuela shutdownOil prices rose to fresh highs for the year on Tuesday, after a U.S. official sa...
Lire la suite »
Oil rises to five-month high on firmer China data, prospect of fresh supply curbsOil prices climbed to nearly five-month highs on Tuesday, supported by firm Chin...
Lire la suite »
Opinion | A British mother marks her third year behind bars in Iran — for no good reasonOf Iran’s many hostages, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is the saddest — and most outrageous — case of all.
Lire la suite »