Reza Tsaghati, the head of Culture and Islamic Guidance in Gilan Province, was suspended last week after a video allegedly showed him having sex with another man. Reza Tsaghati, the head of Culture and Islamic Guidance in Gilan Province, was suspended last week after a video allegedly showed him having sex with another man.
The video, which has not yet been verified, was shared on Radio Gilan’s Telegram channel, the BBC reported. And even though the identities of the men in the video have also not yet been positively verified, the scandal led to Tsaghati’s suspension from his post.
Tsaghati was elected director-general of the Culture and Islamic Guidance of Gilan Province in 2021. He was also involved with the creation of a Chastity and Hijab Workshop and with the launch of a hijab hypermarket, according to Iran Wire, a progressive news site run by Iranian journalists.
Irani women protestors carrying a photo of Mahsa Amini, who died in custody of the nation’s “morality police,” Amini had been arrested for refusing to wear a hijab.
Homosexuality is illegal in Iran, with LGBT+ people at risk of harassment, abuse and violence.
Some have said the removal of Mr Tsaghati from his post highlighted the difference in how Iranian officials are treated when accused of a crime compared to the LGBT+ community, or women who do not adhere to Islamic rules. Under Iranian law, which is based on Sharia, same-sex relations are viewed as crimes that carry a maximum penalty of death. This severe punishment has seldom been used, but the LGBT+ community face daily discrimination.
Women have also been severely punished in Iran for not wearing the hijab. Nationwide protests against its mandatory wearing erupted in September, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. She died three days after she was detained by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating rules requiring women to cover their hair.
