As transgender people, until this day, are the ones who have the highest rates of death among the LGBT+ community around the world, a positive change towards creating a clear image of who they’re is definitely important.

We need to teach each other how to respect the differences that make each one of us unique. And for that, we have to keep in mind that being different doesn’t always translate to being bad or weird but it simply translates to the need of people to present themselves in the way that brings them the most inner peace.

Today we celebrate transgender day of visibility to raise awareness of the hate crimes and discrimination that trans individuals face around the world and on daily basis. In Iraq, so as in many other countries, trans seem to be the ones who are least remembered or accepted as a lot of Iraqis including ones from the LGBT+ community, don’t seem to accept them. And that’s why spreading awareness in still needed and will be until trans people get equal rights as everybody else.

For this special day, IraQueer would like to share messages of love and support that come from both Iraqi trans and Iraqi allies which are sent to all our Iraqi transgender people. These messages are from individuals who come from different backgrounds, beliefs, and sexualities but share the same desire to change the social norms that try to shut you down:
 
“In trans visibility day, we’re celebrating you, our trans friends, and anyone that falls under that umbrella. We are celebrating those who got the opportunity to start their journey towards the life they desire and to those who put it on hold. And as Laverne Cox said, “We are in a place where more and more trans people want to come forwards and say THIS IS WHO I AM.”
To all our trans friends, you’re seen. To all of you out there who go through it every day, you are loved. We’re not what other people say we are, we’re who we know ourselves to be, and we’re what we love.  And here we support who you’re, and who you choose to be. To all of you, happy trans visibility day.”   
-Love and support message from Rafeef, a 22- year- old ally, Baghdad
 
“I personally support transgender people and their rights. I believe it’s very crucial to give our support to one of the most misunderstood and marginalized groups especially in the LGBTQ+ community and in the world generally. Trans people face all kinds of discrimination and their existence is considered a threat to the patriarchal capitalist principles which are based on oppressive gender roles and resulting in gender-based violence when individuals don’t partake in the sex-assigned social role.
 Trans people challenge this discriminative binary world view. The very existence of trans people is the evidence that these dismissive social norms are invalid. We as feminists, activists, and advocates must fight for the rights of our friends and families who are trans. Moreover, a supportive community is very critical and valuable for any individual going through big challenges in their life, and this definitely includes trans people.”
 -Love and support message from Zheera Bazzaz, a 24- year- old ally, Slemani
 
“I know how hard it’s to be part of a society like our Middle Eastern society and I can imagine the amount of negative energy and ugly words you hear daily that come not only from strangers but from the closest people to you who are supposed to be the ones who support you and accept you the most. But you also need to know that I’m and many others like me will always be your allies and we’re all ready to give you the love and peace and support you need. Most importantly, we won’t stop unless all of you get the freedom you deserve.
My advice to you is to not let anybody hurt you or underestimate you, regardless of who that person is.  Fight this life and this society that is hungry to lose you and remember that nothing comes easily. I wish you get what you want. All love and support and respect to you regardless of where you are now.”
-Love and support message from Kawthar, a 20- year- old ally, Turkey.
 
 “I’m a boy who was born in a body of a girl. My message is to all the ones who are in the same situation. I know about all the struggle and the inner fights that you go through but you need to keep in mind that we are special so please don’t hate yourselves or feel bad about the situation you are in. Our experience is unique with all the bad and good that we face. But you should know that none of it is your fault because we, as trans, are normal people as everybody else.
What I ask you for is to take very good care of yourselves. I wish I was able to meet every one of you who’s reading my message now. I can’t explain the amount of love I have for all of you and I can’t describe my feelings as I knew there were so many people like me. Love yourselves and appreciate yourselves. I wish you achieve all your goals and desires, thank you for the time you spend reading this message”
-Love and support message from Hana, a 15- year- old trans, Karbala
 
“To the ones who are reading this blog and this message, I know the situation is bad and it’s a hard time for you. I know that many people aren’t nice or friendly, I know that you have heard so many bullies and had to deal with so many troubles that don’t make any sense, but I want you to know that you’re not alone in this. You should enjoy the small successes you have achieved and the small steps that you have taken to finish your transition.
I want you to know that we love you and we understand what you’re going through, your voice is heard, and we’re ready to help you. I wish you more beautiful days and happy times and fewer breakdowns and I hope you’ll never go through something that brings your tears down. Always remember to smile and to keep fighting because everything will be better.”
-Love and support message from Nora, a trans from Baghdad
 
 
 Rand
IraQueer
 

In general, medical care in Iraq isn’t the best compared to other countries and with having homophobia spread among doctors, nurses, and pharmacists who work in the hospitals, the medical needs of the Iraqi LGBT+ community are rarely met.

When we talk about health issues, we don’t mean simple tooth pain or flu. LGBT+ members need surgeries, STD tests, or mental health services that are unavailable anywhere in the country. For that, most homosexuals avoid visiting doctors or when they do, they avoid telling them about their sexuality because some doctors don’t only refuse to offer their help but also put the patients in more trouble and cause stress by insulting them or threatening them.

IraQueer tells the story of two Iraqi doctors who are willing to offer their medical help to all Iraqis from the LGBT+ community and they hope that their help is going to solve some problems and inspire other doctors to start offering the same kind of help.
Dr. Angelo (Fake name) is an Iraqi medical student, who studies General Medicine and Surgery at the University of Baghdad, tells his story of how he started offering help to the LGBT+ community.

“About eight years ago, I started my journey as an advocate in multiple organizations like World Merit. During that time I used to provide advices and spread awareness among LGBT+ people who were mostly relatives. That moral support then grew to become something different after I became a medical student which was five years ago. After gaining experience, I started providing my medical consult to the ones who need it and regardless of their sexuality.

As a doctor who lives and works in a country where homosexuality is illegal, there have been times when I witnessed the fear that transgender men dealt with as they came to the hospital to get some help. Some of them had feminine qualities which made other people easily notice them and treat them badly for that. Other than being afraid, they were ashamed of being transgender and too shy to deal with other people while some of them denied being trans when they get diagnosed with AIDS.

As a homosexual doctor, I fully understand why they felt this way. I’m also unable to tell anyone in my workplace about my sexuality because I know very well that many problems will follow if I was honest about it. One way for me to keep offering my help to the LGBT+ community is by providing it online. This way I make sure that we all are safe.

LGBT+ people aren’t asking for any special medical care! All they need is to be offered what other Iraqis get already. People from the community are exposed to all kinds of infections and STDs, so they must get primary medical care which is every citizen’s right.

I advise all members of the Iraqi LGBT+ community to take care of themselves. Their physical health affects not only their average age but also every other aspect of their lives. It also affects the ones they love so please if you feel sick, don’t hesitate to get the proper medical help you need. And if you were too afraid to visit the hospital, we hope that we’ll form a group of doctors who are part of the community or allies who can offer you the help you need directly or by connecting you to other doctors and pharmacists and hospitals that welcome you. Again, your health matters.

After I graduate, and whether I’m inside Iraq or abroad, I’m willing to dedicate all my knowledge and time to help the LGBT+ community because I understand the difficulty of getting a proper help. I will be glad to offer my medical help to all of you so if you have any questions or concerns about your health, contact IraQueer so they can connect you to me.”
 
David (Fake name) is an Iraqi General Practitioner and a homosexual man. David’s journey started as several people from the LGBT+ community reached out to him to ask about their health problems that were related to their sexualities or their sexual practices. David says that the ones who asked him for help were too afraid to check with another doctor because of their worries that the doctor would turn to be homophobic.

“I noticed that the LGBT+ community was lacking the proper medical services, including the very basic and simple ones so that was the beginning of my journey to becoming a doctor who offers these services.

Throughout my experience, I noticed that the quality of the medical services varies based on the sexuality of the patient. The type of medical service, the way the patient is treated, and the treatment that is given to the patient all vary significantly based on their sexuality.

Unfortunately, homophobia is common among health personnel including doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and so on. And that homophobia makes some of the medical service providers use the power they have to threaten LGBT+ members on social media or use bad language with them.

My advice to you if you’re an LGBT+ member is to choose your doctor carefully. In case you’re able to reach out to a doctor from the community or a doctor who’s open-minded, then that would be the best choice to go with.

If not, try as much as you can to avoid talking about your sexuality or anything that could make the doctor know about it, deny being queer, and/or deny that you had sex because in most cases, these details aren’t in any way related to the diagnose or the treatment, so focus more on the symptoms and mention them in detail and leave everything else aside.

I am happy to offer my medical help to anyone from the LGBT+ community within my authority as a General Practitioner and for health issues related to both the physical and the psychological health.”
 
How to ask for medical help from IraQueer:
IraQueer wishes all the members of the LGBT+ community a healthy and safe life. Being a member of the community in Iraq isn’t easy that’s why IraQueer is trying hard to create a safe space for you all. We are here to help any of you who’s in need for an urgent medical help that may not be provided in any hospital. In order for us to offer you the help you need, send us an email or a message to our official accounts on social media and tell us what your health issues is and what kind of help you need.

Rand
IraQueer
 

Today, IraQueer celebrates it’s sixth anniversary. We want to thank LGBT+ Iraqis who believe in us, our partners, and supporters for helping us grow and serve more queer Iraqis. Our passion and commitment will continue to guide us until every LGBT+ Iraqi is safe and recognized as equal to other Iraqi citizens.

Allies are individuals who don’t identify as LGBT+ but fight for LGBT+ rights. They fight to end homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, and ensure that the LGBT+ community gets equal civil rights as everybody else in the society.
 
Who could be an ally?
Anybody could be an ally. As a member of the community, your siblings, your teachers, your friends, and even your 70- year- old grandparents could be your allies! All it takes for them to be considered as allies is to accept you, understand you, and support you regardless of your sexuality. And that should be how they treat, not only you but everybody else around them too.
 
Why are allies important to the Iraqi LGBT+ community?
The Iraqi LGBT+ community remains a minority until this day. This means that the effect of our actions, as a community, to reach equality is mainly controlled by everybody else who’s is part of the majority. For that, having allies by our side gives us a voice to reach a larger group of people in the society. Spreading LGBT+ awareness among these Iraqi groups helps us find more allies.
Allies help us spread love. They fight to change the view the society has about the LGBT+ community even during hard times when members of the community themselves can’t fight.

As an ally, what are some ways to support the Iraqi LGBT+ community?
Supporting the LGBT+ community could be extremely dangerous in Iraq due to homophobia that’s common everywhere in the country. Still, supporting the community isn’t impossible.
If your parents aren’t homophobic, start with them. Ask them what they know about homosexuality and correct them if they are wrong about something.
Educate your siblings. You might actually realize that you have a queer brother or a queer sister! If that’s the case, then educating yourself will be even more fun to do.
Showing your support could also be achieved by using different social media platforms to spread awareness. Remember that your safety comes first so spread awareness only among the close people that you fully trust and know that won’t put you in trouble. Share facts about homosexuality, post YouTube videos of transgender people who talk about their journey of coming out, or share artworks that picture the difficulties of being homosexual. There are thousands of sources on the internet that you could encourage others to check. You’ll realize after a while that there are plenty of people who are interested in the topic.
Another way would be to volunteer for organizations that fight for LGBT+ rights. Volunteering gets you closer to people from the LGBT+ community who have been through tough times due to their sexual identities. Learning about these experiences can open your eyes and give you the motive to make a change. Volunteering also gives you the chance to build a network with other allies in the country. IraQueer welcomes any allies who like to volunteer and support the community.
And the easiest way to make a change as an ally is to be kind. Iraqi LGBT+ individuals constantly deal with bullies and disrespect that may force them to push everyone away so acting with a little bit more kindness with them means a lot.
If you get the chance to be friends with somebody from the community, try to listen to them, let them know they matter, and give them the time they need to understand themselves and their needs.
 
Allies are essential to make a positive change in Iraq  
Whether you know them personally or not, allies play an essential role in fixing our Iraqi social norms and empowering the LGBT+ community. No matter how allies choose to show their support, all the effort is appreciated and is leading us, sooner or later, to a better and more accepting society.
 
 Rand
IraQueer