Arsham Parsi is an Iranian

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term i ...

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activist living in exile in

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. He is the founder and head of the International Railroad for Queer Refugees.

Personal life

Parsi was born in

Shiraz, Iran Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 ...

. As a gay Iranian, he felt alone until at age 15 he discovered solace in the Internet. Parsi began volunteering for underground gay organizations. At age 19, he began working for PGLO and networked with doctors to provide

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testing. He responded to emails from suicidal gay teenagers. The strict laws against homosexuality forced Parsi to keep his work secret from friends and family. But in March 2005, Parsi realized the police were looking for him and fled from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

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, where he spent 13 months. Unable to return to Iran, Parsi lives in

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, Canada.

Activism

In 2001, Parsi had formed a small LGBT group online called Rangin Kaman (Rainbow Group), which was renamed as Persian Gay and Lesbian Organization in 2004. As the PGLO would not be recognized in Iran, a friend of Parsi's officially registered PGLO in

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. The PGLO later became the foundation for Parsi's

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-based

Iranian Queer Organization The Iranian Queer Organization (IRQO; fa, سازمان دگرباشان جنسی ایران), also known as the Persian Gay and Lesbian Organization, was an advocacy group for LGBT rights in Iran based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The organizati ...

(IRQO) in 2006. Parsi later left IRQO and founded the International Railroad for Queer Refugees in 2008. The organization's headquarters are in

, Canada and they provide services to all self-identified Iranian LGBTs worldwide. He began secretly working for the advancement of

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...

for lesbians and gays in Iran. In 2003, he helped organize a clandestine

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chat group for gay Iranians, called Voice Celebration. The group had 50 participants, who exchanged views on how best to achieve civil rights. Less than three years later, he was asked to speak publicly in Geneva, Switzerland, at the second session of

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

and on the fourth anniversary all international media published some articles about Iranian gays and lesbians. Parsi was the executive director of the Iranian Queer Organization and director of the organization's online magazine, ''Cheraq'' for several years. In October 2008 he launched International Railroad for Queer Refugees. Parsi has been working on Iranian queer asylum cases. He is an Iranian member of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), based in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

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, and ambassador of Iran in the International Lesbian and Gay Cultural Network (ILGCN), based in Stockholm, Sweden. Director of the cultural committee at the Iranian Association of

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(IAUT) in 2007, Parsi is also a founding member of the Rainbow Railroad group based in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada, and the Advisory Committee of the Hirschfeld Eddy Foundation. Parsi's autobiography, ''Exiled for Love'', was written with Marc Colbourne and published by Fernwood Publishing in 2015.

International Recognition

In April 2008,

(IRQO) which was his former organization name awarded Felipa de Souza Award in 2008 by the

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-based International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). Two months later, Parsi's work was recognized with the Pride Toronto Award for Excellence in Human Rights. In June 2015, Parsi was awarded by Logo TV for the International Trailblazer. Parsi is being featured in two galleries of Canadian Museum for Human Rights that is based in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

. Parsi and Marina Nemat are the only two

ians that were selected for the

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Documentaries

Parsi was interviewed by many major international media about the rights of LGBT people in Iran and Middle East and also featured in several documentaries including CBC

Gay in Iran ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

in 2007, A Jihad for Love by Parvez Sharma, and BBC's

Iran Sex Change Solution Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and T ...

by Ali Hamedani and many more.

References

External links