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‍Micky @micky.montreal from Aadya Rising: Hi Erfan, let’s start by introducing yourself. Our readers are certainly interested in how old you are, where you live, where you come from, what you studied.

Erfan @erfan.khoshrouzi: I am 22 years old and I live in Germany. I am from Iran and I have studied computer science.

Micky: Awesome! We are so excited to do this interview with you in our new series “community heroes”! Erfan, you have a very beautiful name. Does it have a meaning, and how did you choose the name?

Erfan: Erfan means „knowledge, education, proficiency” and it wasn’t me who chose the name. When I talked to my mom about me being trans and that I will be a man, she rejected it for one year. Yet with time she came to accept it and supported me. It was even my mom who chose my male name, Erfan.

Micky: You were born in Iran and now live in Germany. How was it for you back in Iran when you realized you were trans?

Erfan: In Iran it was very difficult for me to live as a trans-person.

Micky: Our readers may ask themselves when you realized that you are trans? Can you describe that?

Erfan: When I (first) felt different inside of myself, I did not know the word “trans” and had never heard of that, but I only knew the word “lesbian”, and I thought I was lesbian.

As a kid I was always like the boys. I didn’t want to play with dolls. And I didn’t want to wear girls’ clothes. When I was with boys, I always wanted to be like them, but I wasn’t allowed to when I was with my parents or in kindergarten, because they kept saying: “You are a girl, you have got to always be neat, you have got to always play with a girl, because you are a girl, too.” But I just couldn’t.

I didn’t know which differences there are between boys and girls but when I was with the boys, they told me “you can’t play with us because you are a girl” and when I was with the girls, they said “you are a boy” and I remember that I was always alone. I was very disappointed.

As a teenager, before my parents or anyone noticed anything, I myself discovered this feeling in me during puberty. My breasts grew and I suffered from that. I can recall exactly when I had my period for the first time. I didn’t sleep in my own bed for an entire week. It was like a nightmare for me. I was in so much agony that my mom took me to a psychologist.  We had actually discussed that I would talk about my fierce unease concerning my breasts and my period, but from then on I kept going to many different doctors until I learned the word “trans” and I understood what was going on with me. Until then I had thought I was lesbian.

This entire process took 3 years.

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Follow us and see how Erfan’s journey continued, how he came out as trans and eventually took refuge in Germany’s capital Berlin, which is widely known for its queerfriendliness. As a refugee far away from home, Erfan keeps on fighting for his freedom and his human rights.

Coming up soon here on Aadya Rising!

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