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Amir Ashour

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Iraqi LGBT rights activist

Amir Ashour (Arabic: أمير عاشور; born c. 1990) is an Iraqi LGBT rights activist who, in 2015 at age 25, founded IraQueer, a non-governmental organization that advocates for the rights of LGBT people in Iraq.

Personal life

Ashour was born in Baghdad, Iraq, and raised in Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan Region. He was raised practicing Islam, though stopped following the religion in 2008, stating "Islam didn't work for me".

After being arrested twice due to his work in the human rights sector, Ashour sought asylum in Sweden while there on a business trip in 2014. The next year he was granted political asylum.

Ashour later moved from Sweden to New York City where he graduated in 2018 from Columbia University with a master's degree in human rights. Ashour began studying at Harvard Law School in 2021. After graduating in May of 2024 he moved back to New York where he is currently working for the international law firm, White & Case.

LGBT advocacy

Prior to leaving Iraq, Ashour spent for years working for human rights organisations advocating for the rights of LGBT people, women, and sex workers.

Ashour founded IraQueer in March 2015 while living in exile in Sweden, which was Iraq's first national LGBT organisation. Formed on a voluntary basis, it initially focused on publishing accounts from LGBT Iraqis, in addition to producing educational resources for Iraq's LGBT community, including guides on the law, sexual health, and security, in English, Arabic, and Kurdish. IraQueer subsequently went on to perform international advocacy in support of the rights of LGBT people living in Iraq, including with the United Nations, in addition to providing safe housing and medical help. Ashour left his position as executive director of IraQueer in July 2021.

Ashour has been critical of the media's presentation of homophobic attacks in Iraq as being linked to the Islamic State, stating that anti-LGBT activity and rhetoric in the country had been prevalent for decades prior, and "deeply rooted" in Arab culture, as well as within powerful militias who supported the national government. He has called for the creation of neutral and respectful terms for LGBT people in Arabic and Kurdish, citing contemporary linguistic terms in the languages often being offensive in nature.

Ashour has also called for the narrative around LGBT people in the Middle East to be changed, including acknowledging that not all LGBT people in Iraq struggle with or reject their sexuality.

Ashour has also expressed doubts at Kurdish governments in Iraq and Syria's attempts to present themselves as being LGBT friendly, stating that "talking is easier than action" and felt such statements were made to appease the West. He criticised security forces in Sulaymaniyah in 2021 launching an operation to arrest "suspected" LGBT people, despite the Kurdistan Region's deputy prime minister Qubad Talabani stating "all citizens, regardless of... gender (and or gender preference) ... and sexual preference" deserved equal rights in 2019.

In 2022, Ashour criticised the Iraqi government's proposed legislation that would prohibit homosexuality in the country, stating it would legalise the murders of LGBT people. Ashour criticised the influence of Iraqi politicians such as Muqtada al-Sadr, who had suggested monkeypox was a result of homosexual behaviour, over the government, and accused them of launching public campaigns against homosexuality to avoid discussing real issues facing Iraq, such as unemployment and corruption.

Recognition

The Special Broadcasting Service in Australia called Ashour "Iraq's only gay activist", though he has been critical of this label. He has been interviewed by HuffPost, The Independent, and The Washington Post.

In 2021, Ashour was inducted as a Generation Change Honoree at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Budapest.

Ashour has been nominated for the Raoul Wallenberg Academy Prize and the David Kato Voice and Vision Award.

In 2022, Ashour was awarded the Gay Times Honour for International Community Trailblazer.

See also

References

  1. ^ Jahshan, Elias (29 November 2016). "Meet Amir Ashour, the man dubbed "Iraq's only gay activist"". SBS News. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  2. ^ Sherriff, Lucy (19 November 2015). "'Being Gay In Iraq Isn't As Sexy As ISIS' - But It Might Be Just As Dangerous". HuffPost. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  3. ^ Milne, Amber (27 September 2017). "Amir Ashour, Founder and Executive Director of IraQueer". Openly. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  4. ^ Moffitt, Kelly (9 June 2021). "This Columbia Alumnus Is Making Waves as the Founder of the First LGBTQ+ Organization in Iraq". Columbia News. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  5. "CATCHING UP WITH IRAQUEER FOUNDER AMIR ASHOUR". Brooklyn Brewery. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  6. ^ Dodson, P. Claire (12 November 2021). "MTV EMAs Announce 5 LGBTQ+ Activists as Generation Change Honorees". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Iraq's only openly gay activist on how he's fighting to make his country safer". The Independent. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  8. Ashour, Amir (5 July 2021). "Amir Ashour is leaving IraQueer". IraQueer. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  9. ^ Shibata, Mari (27 July 2016). "How one man is trying to make it safer to be LGBTQ in Iraq". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  10. Sirwan, Dilan (2 April 2021). "Sulaimani's LGBT+ community 'terrified' after security forces launch crackdown". Rudaw Media Network. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  11. ^ MacDonald, Alex (9 July 2022). "Alarm over proposed law banning homosexuality in Iraq". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  12. Clark, Conor (25 November 2022). "Amir Ashour wins International Community Trailblazer at GAY TIMES Honours 2022". Gay Times. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
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