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In 2019, a journalist asked Iranian Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif why people are executed in Iran for being gay. His <\/span>response<\/span><\/a>: \u201cOur society has moral principles. And we live according to these principles \u2026 That means that the law is respected, and the law is obeyed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Under Islamic law, homosexuality is a crime punishable by imprisonment or execution for those who violate it. One could assume the conservative Islamic regime would produce similar consequences for transgenderism. But it is, in fact, legal and religiously permissible.<\/span><\/p>\n In the Western world, LGBT advancements are seen as a form of <\/span>liberation. But in Iran, a complex dichotomy remains \u2014 where homosexuality can lead to death, yet transgenderism is given the green light. <\/span>However, the practice is not celebrated so much as it is utilized as a cure for homosexuality. And in some cases, it is involuntary.<\/p>\n Transgenderism in Iran first surfaced in the 1980s. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founding supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, issued a fatwa \u2014 a religious decree \u2014 to legalize transgenderism, with the requirement that they are diagnosed with gender dysphoria and undergo surgery for sex changes. Maryam Khatoon Molkara<\/a>, an Iranian transgender activist, is credited as the driving force of the movement. After years of writing letters and persisting with Khomeini, even visiting his home to plead his case, Molkara convinced the supreme leader to authorize transgender surgery in 1987.<\/p>\n Khomeini determined there was nothing in religious law that condemned transgenderism; rather, it could medically serve as a correction for the mental disorder.<\/p>\n A religious cleric, Hojatolislam Muhammad Mehdi Kariminia, famously said<\/a> an operation is no more a sin than \u201cchanging wheat to flour to bread.\u201d<\/p>\n He said, \u201cIslam has a cure for people suffering from this problem. If they want to change their gender, the path is open.\u201d<\/p>\n But Kariminia clarified his stance on homosexuality. \u201cThe discussion is fundamentally separate \u2026 Absolutely not related. Homosexuals are doing something unnatural and against religion,\u201d Kariminia added.<\/p>\n However, ongoing reports suggest transgenderism in Iran may at times be exploited. Put plainly, some may be forced to transition.<\/p>\n A New York Times\u00a0article<\/a>\u00a0published in October 2025 highlights the paradox: \u201cFor 40 years Iran has performed more gender transition surgeries than many other nations, largely a result of pressuring gay and gender-nonconforming citizens to undergo unwanted operations or risk the death penalty.\u201d<\/p>\n The United Nations also expressed its concerns in a 2023 report<\/a> that gay and lesbian Iranians are being \u201cpressured into undergoing gender reassignment surgery without their free consent.\u201d<\/p>\n