03/09/2012 | Writer: Ömer Akpınar
Kaos GL is among the nominees for this year’s Sepas Awards,annually held in honor of Iran’s first gay activist, Saviz Shafaei.
Kaos GL is among the nominees for this year’s Sepas Awards,annually held in honor of Iran's first gay activist, Saviz Shafaei. We have been nominated in the international award category for the support and social services we have given to the queer refugees from Iran in Turkey.
In honor of Shafaei who has passed away in 2000 by cancer, The Sepas Awards are held on his birthday, August the 30th. The awards are given to people or associations who have a significant contribution to defending the human rights for queer communities who have been discriminated or abused on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.
The Sepas Group will review the works and influences that the nominees have had in their own fields and will declare the prize winners during the 10th year aniversary of the Iranian Queer Voice Week, which will be held between the 24th September and October 1st.
The nominees in the Performing Art Award category are:
A) Iman Shakib: For his animation, White Paper (Kaghaz-e Sefid), on diversity and queer
cause.
B) Mohammad Khordadian: For being the first Iranian gay performer and coming out publicly on
TV.
C) Shahin Najafi: For Bad-Az-To music video that is the first ever song on diversity and sexual
intimacy among Iranian society and breaking a big taboo by including the homosexual sense at
the clip.
D) Saye Sky: For her lyrics and music videos on homosexuality.
The nominees in the Activism Award category are:
A) Susan Taslimi: For her public support of Iranian queer human rights as for being the first Iranian
actress and celebrity to be at the International Day Against Homophobia.
B) Shohre Solati: For her public support of Iranian queers as being the first Iranian vocalist to be at the International Day Against Homophobia.
C) Kambiz Hosseini: For his public support of Iranian queer cause at the International Day
Against Homophobia and his courage to declare that he used to be a homophobic person, but isn't anymore.
The nominees in the Media Award category are:
A) Susan Taslimi: For directing the Iranian Voices projects that mostly covered the Iranian
queer human rights.
B) Ali Hamedani: For his long time support for Iranian queer human rights cause and all his
media coverage as a BBC journalist.
The nominees in the Writing Award category are:
A) Farkhondeh Aghaei: The author of 'Jensiyat-e Gomshode', a story of an Iranian
transsexual and all her dilemmas.
B) Saeideh Saadat: The author of 'Iranische Lesben in Deutschland und Europa' that covered the
difficulties and situations that Iranian female homosexuals face.
The nominees in the International Award category are:
A) Riksteatern based in Stockholm, Sweden for it's Iranian Voices Project.
B) Swedish International Development Agency for it's Iranian Voices Project and sponsoring
several conferences on Iranian queer human rights.
C) KAOS GL based in Ankara for supporting the Iranian queer refugees in Turkey and providing them social services.
Tags: human rights
