a. Context:
Women of sexual and ethnic minorities within and outside Iran experience severe stigma and discrimination within their communities. The issue of sexual orientation and ethnic diversity is continually in the press and discussed in public forums in a way that entrenches stereotypes and misconceptions, and reinforces discrimination. Many individuals find themselves harassed, threatened, imprisoned or abused because of their sexual orientation and ethnic background. There is an acute need for a platform dedicated to the rights and concerns of young women from marginalised groups. Though still small, the existence of a radio platform run by their own peers is a remarkable accomplishment. The members find solidarity, share their experiences, express their views, thereby raising their visibility while participate in shaping their own living environments. Radio Margin also serves as a platform on which to advocate for the rights of women, LGBTIQ and ethnic minorities as human rights and to sensitize society to the challenges that these young women face.
The project aims to develop the capacity and visibility of these marginalized women as a constituency that cannot be ignored, thereby enabling them to resist and address the suppression and marginalisation of gender, sexual, ethnic and religious minority groups in the laws, policies and values of authoritarian forces in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
This project aims to address the following problems:
- The suppression and marginalsation of gender, sexual, ethnic and religious minority groups in the laws, policies and values of authoritarian forces in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
- Marginalization of women, LGBTIQ, ethnic and religious minorities in the democratizing movement in Iran, called the “Green Movement”, despite its diverse political orientations, including religionists and secularists
- Lack of freedom of expression and association in Iran
- The lack of visible space to Iranian young people, especially from the marginalized groups, to voice their concerns
- The need for the marginalised to develop as a constituency that cannot be ignored in all agendas for political change.