Vahid Aliyev

3 Posts

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Vahid is an LGBTI activist at the Nafas LGBT Azerbaijan Alliance and is currently studying an MA in Queer History at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Azerbaijan

Opinion | How Azerbaijan’s media ignores anti-queer violence

by Vahid Aliyev

•3 min read

The silence of Azerbaijani media as violence against queer communities surges, is not only irresponsible but actively contributes to the dehumanisation of queer people. It is nothing less than complicity. I remember some people saying, ‘Well, actually, Baku is not that bad of a place to be for queers.’ Though, according to ILGA-Europe’s annual Rainbow Europe Map, since 2015 Azerbaijan has been ranked as the worst country for the LGBTIQ+ community. In the last several years, there has been a

Azerbaijan

Opinion | Who are the feminists in Azerbaijan?

by Vahid Aliyev

•4 min read

Feminists in Azerbaijan face down the state and society as they fight for their ideals. To lump them in with those who reject the ‘f-word’ label and to judge them according to the history of feminists in the West is a disservice to their struggle. Recently, OC Media published an opinion piece by Ramil Zamanov, where he argued that in order for feminism to be successful in the Caucasus, it needs to march hand-in-hand with queer rights. While I agree with the headline, I found that the piece

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan’s media — spreading fear and hate of queer people

by Vahid Aliyev

•5 min read

When discussing queer topics, Azerbaijan’s media throws the most basic journalistic ethics completely out of the window. Instead of reporting objectively, the media spreads hate and discrimination, and is a tool of the country’s propaganda. Homosexuality is still a taboo topic in Azerbaijan, and queer people face discrimination in many aspects of life, and in many different fields, such as: education, healthcare, employment, housing, and the military and police. When queer topics are dis

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