Ladataan ilmoitusta
Local news 16.5.2023 20:00

A new life without fear of execution

Reza Kazemi is a teenage boy studying in Lauttakylä Upper Secondary School, who has lived as a woman in Iran until last autumn. In Finland Kazemi doesn’t need to run into trouble because of his identity.

Reza Kazemi can finally be himself without fear of execution. Kuva: Heli Lehtelä
Reza Kazemi can finally be himself without fear of execution. Kuva: Heli Lehtelä
Vilja Vartia, oppilastoimitus 7.lk (suomenkielinen alkuperäisteksti Heli Lehtelä)

–I had a very close call once. I was on the street of my hometown, Teheran, without a hijab, when a vice squad saw me. I started running away and luckily the officer was so far away that I succeeded, which was very unlikely in my opinion, tells the 19-year-old teenage boy Reza Kazemi of his life back in his home country.

Kazemi had to wear a covering hijab, because the Islamic State of Iran demands all women to do so. Officially he is still a woman, although he has felt he is a man for many years now.

The punishment for not wearing a hijab can be fatal, not less than being arrested but also possibly violent acts.

Reza Kazemi applied for school in Finland, because his parents were naturally concerned for their child’s future in the current circumstances in Iran, a country where he cannot live true to himself.

You can change your gender in Iran, but not without consequences.

–I considered a surgery and making it official, but it would have meant that I would have had to carry around a certificate that said I was emotionally unstable. I wouldn’t have found a job anywhere. I would have also had to enlist in the army.

Lauttakylä-lehden ja Pellonpuiston koulun yhteinen oppilastoimitus kääntää poimintoja viikon lehdestä englanniksi. Tiivistelmän on kääntänyt 7.-luokkalainen Vilja Vartia. /The student editorial of Lauttakylä newspaper and Pellonpuisto school makes some translations from weekly paper into English. The English summary was was made by 7th grader Vilja Vartia.

Lue lisää

Paikalliset uutiset diginä - nyt vain 72 e/vuosi.

Tilaa