I'm pretty sure that most sincere and good people would take the hint and wonder if they were doing something wrong if Rod Liddle agreed with them.
BBC The gay people pushed to change their gender
By Ali Hamedani
(extract)
Iran is one of a handful of countries where homosexual acts are punishable by death. Clerics do, however accept the idea that a person may be trapped in a body of the wrong sex. So homosexuals can be pushed into having gender reassignment surgery - and to avoid it many flee the country (continues)
"I got to know myself better... I accepted that I was a lesbian and I was happy with that."
But living in Iran as an openly gay man or woman is impossible. Donya, now 33, fled to Turkey with her son from a brief marriage, and then to Canada, where they were granted asylum.
It's not official government policy to force gay men or women to undergo gender reassignment but the pressure can be intense. In the 1980's the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa allowing gender reassignment surgery - apparently after being moved by a meeting with a woman who said she was trapped in a man's body.
They show how easy it can be... They promise to give you a loan to pay for the surgery
Shabnam, Psychologist
Shabnam - not her real name - who is a psychologist at a state-run clinic in Iran says some gay people now end up being pushed towards surgery. Doctors are told to tell gay men and women that they are "sick" and need treatment, she says. They usually refer them to clerics who tell them to strengthen their faith by saying their daily prayers properly.
But medical treatments are also offered. And because the authorities "do not know the difference between identity and sexuality", as Shabnam puts it, doctors tell the patients they need to undergo gender reassignment." (continues)
www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29832690
MsVanillaRoseAuntof7 any thoughts with regards the 'progressive' (?) affirmative trans rights policies in Iran?