STORIES

THAT'S MY DREAM

Iran

We are living in a world in which 69 countries currently criminalize consensual, same-sex sexual activity, with a possible death penalty in 11, Iran is one of these countries where same-sex sexual activity is punished by the death penalty. Iranian queers are facing many problems, everyday existence is difficult for them. They live in a society whose homophobia and heterosexism render them "invisible." They suffer silently through personal trauma and societal conflicts; signs of their gender identities are often met by shunning, mocking, and bullying. They have had no easy access to the essential information they need to make sense of their anxieties and desperations. They are living with systematic suppression, discrimination, family rejection, and judicial problems, living their lives in fear every day. Still, they have hopes that one day they can reach their dreams, that there will be no persecution, death penalties, politicians and people change their minds, have equal rights as others, and live freely.
"That's My Dream" is asking Iranian queers about their dreams for the future, it uses anonymous generated pictures, with the help of an AI, an online text-to-image generator, and interviews. The generated pictures are used to protect the identities of interviewed individuals and to invite viewers into the dreams of Irani-an queers for the future, a future with a robust political culture that addresses the systemic roots of oppression affecting the people.

Abbas 23 and Shayan 22 are gay couples living in Tabriz, Iran. They dream of marrying each other one day in Iran, " I want to marry Abbas one day here in my hometown and invite my friends and family, I know that is just a dream but I'm thinking about it every day. " Shayan says.

Nima 27, is a queer living in Tehran, Iran. Their dream is about living free as a queer in Iran without the fear of perscution or being killed. " I just want a normal life that I can be myself in Iran not in any other country, nothing more. I believe one day this dream will come true." Nima Says.

Ashkan 19 and Maryam 21, are a non-binary couple living in Shiraz, Iran. They have a dream of be-ing accepted by society and their families, " We want to live together, hold hands and spend time to-gether without getting into terrible problems. That's our only and biggest dream." Maryam says

Mahnaz 37, is a lesbien living in Tehran. Her dream is about one-day society coming to their mind and accepting that we LGBTQ+ people have rights to live too. " Many people want us dead here, they don't care that we are hu-man beings too. I dream that we could live together in a world without violence towards us" Mahnaz says.

Amir Ali 20, is a gay living in Mashhad, Iran. He has a dream about the head of religion in Iran passing a law to end the violence toward the LGBTQ+ community. " I know it won't ever happen but still I have a dream that one day the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei order to stop killing gays in Iran and he waves an LGBTQ+ flag to show his sup-port." Amir Ali says

Leila 29, is a transgender living in Qum, Iran. Her dream is to celebrate Pride march in her hometown. " I love the Pride March, not just for celebrating it, it's important to me because I want to show others that we are here, we are living and fighting for our rights. This is my dream. " Leila says.

Amin 41, is a bisexual living in Rasht, Iran. His dream is about freedom, " My only dream is I would be free, without trying to hide my identity in Iran" Amin says.

Soorya 19 and Hengame 29, are a lesbian couple living in Ahwaz, Iran. Their dream is about telling their families about their relationship. " We always dreamed about we go to our families and letting them know about our rela-tionship, and they would accept and support us. But that's just a dream and we know that it won't happen and if they find out about us we will be killed right away." Soorya says.

Arshia 25, is a gay living in Tehran. His dream is when finally politicians and society accepted the LGBTQ+ communi-ty he comes to the streets and celebrate. " I'm waiting and dreaming for a day that like other countries we pass some laws to be recognized and have rights, and then I will come to the streets and celebrate with many others. " Arshia says.

Ata 31, is a non-binary living in Tehran. Their dream is to fight for LGBTQ+ rights until they get to it. " My goal and dream is I fight and raise awareness until we get to a point that the society accept us. I want to fight for this dream and I'm waving our flag with pride for that. " Ata Says.

Mona 30 and Zahra 37, are a lesbian couple living in Tabriz, Iran. Their dream is to adopt a child, " We are together for 7 years and now we are dreaming that we could have adopted a kid. Both of us love kids and we feel that we can raise our children but it's a dream, and we can not reach it. We hope in future this would be possible for LGBTQ+ couples in Iran too." Zahra says.

Rosa 29, is a transsexual living in Tehran, her dream is in the future is to pass a gender identity law in Iran. " My dream for the future is to pass a gender identity law in my country and I want trans people to have other employment opportunities so that they don’t just have to be sex workers. This is my dream." Rosa says.