New queer initiative: Queerdian

In November of this year, a new initiative called Queerdian was created to fight against the current socio-political representation of local LGBTIQ+ citizens and all kinds of pressures against LGBTIQ+ citizens.

The initiative announced that it will work for a safe and legally favorable environment where all basic rights and freedoms of LGBTIQ+ citizens are guaranteed.

Queerdian wants to contribute to the improvement of society's understanding of the needs and rights of LGBTIQ+ citizens in Azerbaijan, the creation and maintenance of better information resources, and operates with the slogan "We queer the public memory in Azerbaijan!".

Leyla Hasanova, the founder of the initiative, told Minority Azerbaijan that they could not get adequate and correct answers to the inquiries they sent to the law enforcement agencies regarding LGBTIQ+ victims for research and reports.

"For example, we saw a queer citizen/activist sharing on social media that they had complained to the police about the violence they had suffered. However, in response to a survey covering that period, they said that the law enforcement agencies did not receive any complaints from LGBTIQ+ people. Or even if the queer activist who was subjected to violence publicized the issue, media outlets avoided showing their support in publicizing this situation," says Leyla.

According to Leyla, this and many similar cases mean the systematization and institutionalization of LGBTIQ+phobia in society. This means that the reality of queer citizens in the country is not accepted as reality, law enforcement agencies do not accept these complaints, and as a result, there is no data related to queer realities. Queerdian was created precisely to form the socio-political data of LGBTIQ+ and to compile a single system.