Iran: CFWIJ Extends Solidarity To Exiled Queer Iranian Journalist Maryam Abasian
Location: Iran
Date: January 25, 2022
Iranian journalist Maryam Abasian had to leave her country as her life was in danger due to her sexual orientation and queer identity. She fled to Turkey last year after being subjected to interrogations by the authorities and repeated threatening phone calls by anonymous persons. The Coalition For Women In Journalism stands in solidarity with Maryam and other queer journalists in Iran, where sexual minorities face legal persecution.
In a recent interview given to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Maryam said that Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) repeatedly summoned her over her reports on the presidential administration for the reformist Shargh Daily. She elaborated that the IRGC interrogators would bring up her sexual orientation while questioning her. They called her “unworthy”, she said.
Maryam had worked for multiple media outlets, including Shargh Daily, Donya-e-Eqtesad and Chelgheragh before she fled to Turkey in October, 2021. She now lives in exile.
The journalist told CPJ that it was in September 2020 that she was taken for interrogation for the first time. At the time, she was questioned about her activities and posts on Twitter and Instagram accounts.
“Especially my posts about political prisoner Navid Afkari [an Iranian wrestler executed in September 2020 for allegedly murdering a security agent; human rights groups said he confessed under torture],” she said. Following the interrogation she received “scary and threatening” phone calls from unknown numbers, added the journalist.
In June 2021 she was interrogated again at an undisclosed location near Ervin prison, said Maryam. “I endured hours of shameless verbal harassment particularly focused on my sexual orientation. They were trying to prove that because of who I am I’m unworthy, corrupt, with no identity and unqualified to work as a journalist.”
In the interview, Maryam described press freedom in Iran as “terrible”. According to Maryam, there is a joke among Iranian journalists: “We [they] have freedom of expression but we don’t have freedom after expression.” She added that in her country there are dark consequences for what you express as a journalist.
The difficulties Maryam faced on the job as a queer journalist did not come from the state alone. The journalist described the newsroom environment as very patriarchal and misogynist as well. “As a woman you are always doomed to be second. You are always thinking how to prove yourself so your male colleagues take you seriously.”
According to Maryam, women journalists in Iran can face serious risks to their careers if they do not adorn clothing, including the hijab, as directed by the authorities. She told the CPJ that queer journalists cannot openly identify as such in Iran. “As a queer woman I had to hide my look and identity, because if that was revealed I would be kicked out of my job”.
Maryam managed to escape Iran but she does not feel entirely safe in Turkey either. It is undeniable that Iran’s government has silenced critical journalists outside its borders for years, she said.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism extends solidarity and support to Maryam Abasian as she navigates life and work in exile. We have closely monitored cases of violations against women and LGBTQ+ journalists in Iran. In 2019, Iran stood as the largest jailer of women journalists around the world and till last year, Iran still had at least 10 incarcerated women journalists. The freedom of speech and expression is a human right and we urge the Iranian authorities to allow its citizens to exercise such rights. We stand in solidarity with Maryam and all other journalists belonging to gender or sexual minorities in Iran and elsewhere in the world.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
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