Ali Malikov

5 Posts

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Ali is a journalist and activist from Azerbaijan, and one of the creators of the Qiy Vaar! and Femkulis platforms. His work focuses on a queer-feminist perspective on issues in Azerbaijan, publicisin

Azerbaijan

No job, no flat: trans people in the margins in Azerbaijan

by Ali Malikov

•5 min read

Discrimination against trans people in Azerbaijan has very direct economic impacts, with many struggling to find jobs or flats, and ending up at risk through black market work and precarious housing. Durdana, 29, was born and raised in Baku. She left home seven years ago, after coming out as trans. In the years since, she has been arrested, rejected from housing and employment opportunities for being trans, and, in the past two years, failed to find any work after the one stable employer sh

Azerbaijan

A prison within a prison: trans women behind bars in Azerbaijan

by Ali Malikov

•4 min read

In Azerbaijani prisons, binary gender norms and institutional homophobia leave trans women particularly vulnerable to physical violence, sexual abuse, and psychological damage. For Zinat, a 30-year-old Azerbaijani trans woman, the day she was sent to prison was ‘the end of the world’. Having struggled against a state and society that persecutes trans women, things only got worse once she went inside to serve 30 days on charges of resisting police. ‘The first time I was convicted in priso

A protest for World Animal Day on 4 October in Baku, Azerbaijan. Photo: Ismayil Taghiyev.

Animal Welfare

Blood and democracy: the fight for animal rights in Azerbaijan

by Ali Malikov

•5 min read

In Azerbaijan, animal rights activists have been protesting the illegal shooting of dogs by municipal authorities, but are doing so in the face of legal challenges and police brutality. ‘We often see blood on the streets,’ says Kamran Mammadli, a 27-year-old vegan activist. Mammadli has been engaged in animal rights activism since the movement began to gain momentum in Azerbaijan, around four years ago. He tells OC Media that state violence against stray dogs played a driving role in the mo

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan’s queer sex workers face double isolation

by Ali Malikov

•4 min read

Queer sex workers in Azerbaijan face systemic discrimination by national and law enforcement agencies, while also struggling to find acceptance within the larger queer community. After losing their job at the age of 17, Matan was forced to resort to sex work to make ends meet. Matan says their age and cross dressing only made finding an alternative harder. Today, at 19, Matan finds themself subject to public shaming and police intimidation on a regular basis. Merriment drowned out Matan’s

Avaz Hafizli

Obituary | Avaz Hafizli

by Ali Malikov

•3 min read

Avaz Hafizli, aged 24, was murdered, allegedly by his cousin, on 23 February 2022. Ali Malikov writes about Avaz’s activism for the queer community in Azerbaijan, and his lasting contributions to the movement. It was about two years ago when I suddenly received a message from Avaz about the murder of Aysun, a transgender woman. He described the violent crime and said that blogger Ata Abdullayev was targetting Aysun. This is how we first met. Afterwards, Lili Nazarov, myself, and other qu

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