In a concerning development, Zahra Hamadani, 31, and Elham Chubdar, 24, two Iranian women, face the death penalty for their involvement in LGBT rights advocacy. Their conviction includes charges such as “corruption on Earth” and accusations of promoting Christianity.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) accused the two of “promoting homosexuality, gambling, fraud, and promoting illicit sexual relations and publishing them on the Internet.”
The severity of their sentence has caught international attention, particularly among human rights advocates, illuminating the stark dangers faced by the LGBT community in Iran, a country where non-conformity to sexual norms is met with extreme punitive measures.
LGBTQ individuals in Iran are punished under Sharia law, where same-sex relations are illegal. The punishments for homosexuality can range from imprisonment to the death penalty, and the law distinguishes between the roles in sexual acts, prescribing different penalties. While transgender individuals can legally change their sex via surgery, same-sex activities remain a capital offense for men, and women may be subjected to flogging. These severe legal measures reflect the country’s strict regulations against homosexuality and the significant risks faced by LGBTQ individuals in Iran.
This incident further highlights the ongoing human rights challenges in regions with stringent laws against sexual diversity.
