LGBT Republic of Iran: An Online Reality?
6.1. Recommendations
role models who would mentor a core group of young lesbian
women, help them to be more active in the wider community, and increase their visibility while maintaining personal and
online security. Small Media has access to a platform that could be adapted to suit this purpose. A partner organisation could, with our help, find, gather, and fund the selected role models
to mentor the women, and to create valuable and empowering content for dissemination across the platform,
“The real goal is empowerment. Empowerment has to do
with the way one presents themselves. If one thinks of them-
selves as a ‘mistake’, as ‘sinful’, as deserving of punishment, as
mentally ill, or as imperfect, then they are vulnerable to a wide
variety of assault and attack - from siblings, peers, and strangers ... The other point that needs to be taught is awareness of ‘what is going on in the world around me’ ... When am I really at risk
and when am I so used to thinking that I‘m not safe that I assume I am at risk?”
a novel idea for lgbt authors
// The LGBT authoring community in Iran needs our support.
They need to be encouraged to write; their voices have the
power to impress change upon the landscape of LGBT issues
in Iran and pose a stark challenge to heteronormativity and patriarchy in Iran. Although the case of Ketabkhaneh88 (discussed
earlier in this report) is inspiring, there is much more to be done in terms of facilitating and supporting the publishing process for LGBT authors who, as we mentioned, would never dream
of applying to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance for
permission to publish. Thus, our recommendation is two-fold. In partnership with Gilgamishan Publications, a publishing company or other interested individual/charity could fundraise to
support Iran’s LGBT authors to ready their books for publication. The books could be printed for audiences in exile and converted