"I'm a woman, and I'm bisexual. I had few sexual experiences with women, always with close friends. It's impossible to have relations with a stranger; you never know if she is real or has bad intentions. I wish I could try more, but a woman can't live outside the family home if she is not with her husband, so I could never live with a woman I'm in love with."
Homosexuality is considered a crime in 69 countries, including Iraq.
In parallel to the global hate crime toward the LGBT+ community, the violence against them in Iraq has escalated dramatically. Especially after the western invasion of Iraq back in 2003, homosexuality has been considered a western export to the country.
The Iraqi constitution never addressed the existence of this community. Like many Muslim countries, the Iraqi sees homosexuality as a tremendous and punishable sin.
In recent days, the leader of the Sadrist movement in Iraq, Muqtada al-Sadr, described the Monkeypox as "gay pox", calling for a day of repentance.
Al-Sadr suggested on his Twitter "that there be a special day against homosexuals and their reprehensible obscenity on earth and in heaven."
The members of the LGBT+ community in Iraq live multiple layers of fear. The fear begins within their own family and tribe. Then expand into the neighbourhood and the society and finally, the law enforcement and militias on top of all.
Many gay and transgender men have been through abuse in Iraq, both verbally and physically. It is a common experience of being threatened or raped by militiamen or harassed by the local police force. To cover their sexual identity, many of them marry a person they do not love.
However, they are present, and in the recent public unrest in 2019, they were at the forefront of the protest. The members of the LGBT+ community might not be able to express their true feeling, but they are fighting for a more democratic political system away from militia and religious intervention.
This photo essay is the story of the Iraqi LGBTQ+ community and their untold stories.
-
"I'm gay. My younger brother found out and hates me. He has beaten me up a few times. My mother found a sex toy in my room and wrote me notes saying she would never understand, but she still loved me. She asked me to destroy the letters. I live in fear for my life, and I can't even cut my hair the way I like.""I'm gay. For weeks I have been followed and blackmailed by a man from the militia. I was leaving in absolute fear. I'm free now. I made him believe I had left the country. I am so afraid to live this experience again. I usually find a boyfriend on Grindr or Facebook, but I'm never sure if he is a genuine guy interested in me or someone who wants to hurt me or even kill me. I met my ex-boyfriend in person for the first time after we had chatted for three months, and I was terrified about our first meeting.""I'm a bisexual guy, an atheist, so I cross two lines here in Iraq. I had an excellent job, but the militia ran my company, and I was always afraid of being discovered. I also fought with my family, so I had to leave my home and try to move to Greece illegally. I arrived in Greece, but the police caught us and deported me to Turkey. They sent us to a refugee camp in Turkey and then sent us back to Iraqi Kurdistan, and from there, we took a car back to Baghdad. It was more than a nightmare, and I don't want to experience it ever again. Now I gave in and accepted my destiny as a broken person with no chance of finding love.""I'm a bisexual guy, an atheist, so I cross two lines here in Iraq. I had an excellent job, but the militia ran my company, and I was always afraid of being discovered. I also fought with my family, so I had to leave my home and try to move to Greece illegally. I arrived in Greece, but the police caught us and deported me to Turkey. They sent us to a refugee camp in Turkey and then sent us back to Iraqi Kurdistan, and from there, we took a car back to Baghdad. It was more than a nightmare, and I don't want to experience it ever again. Now I gave in and accepted my destiny as a broken person with no chance of finding love.""I'm a transgender person, and I'm a Christian. I don't want to leave this country because it's my country and culture, but I will never find real love here. Many guys are attracted to me because I have breasts, but sometimes after sex, they act disgusted by me. I will never be happy, and I will never be able to become the person I am. If I were living in a tolerant country, I would immediately have sex reassignment and become the woman I truly am.""I'm lesbian. I'm studying hard to get a master's degree in business, so I will hopefully be able to leave this country legally and finally start to love the way I want, which is typical for me. "I'm a woman, and I'm bisexual. I had few sexual experiences with women, always with close friends. It's impossible to have relations with a stranger; you never know if she is real or has bad intentions. I wish I could try more, but a woman can't live outside the family home if she is not with her husband, so I could never live with a woman I'm in love with."
