Rasan (organization)

Rasan (Kurdish: ڕاسان; English: /rɑːsɑːn/; lit. 'uprising') was a Kurdish non-governmental human rights organization that was established in 2004 in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Rasan focused on LGBTQ rights and women's rights. The organization ran projects that focused on coexistence and social cohesion through the use of arts, social awareness, focus groups, livelihood projects, seminars, workshops, training, and action plans. Rasan engaged community leaders from different sectors in community forums on gender identity, equality and coexistence.

Initially, Rasan was a feminist women's rights organization between 2004 and 2012 but in 2012 they expanded their scope to human rights issues related to the LGBTQ community, making them the first registered organization in Iraq to publicly advocate for the LGBTQ community. The organization also campaigned against child marriage and domestic abuse. The organization was headquartered in Sulaymaniyah, which was their primary area of operation, but they campaign in Iraq and the wider Middle East using their media presence and social media platforms, pressuring the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to acknowledge basic human rights which are still violated and establish laws to protect LGBTQ people and women.

The organization started awareness campaigns and group workshops for young people in Kurdish society to try to uproot the taboo of LGBTQ acceptance and the way LGBTQ communities are viewed and vilified by most of society. One of the campaigns, known as Art for All, included painting murals on public walls depicting the concerns of the LGBTQ community in Kurdistan in an attempt to sway public opinion towards a more lenient mentality. The project started in 2017 after a fundraising campaign by All Out. By the end of the project, some of the murals representing the LGBTQ community were vandalized, especially ones with rainbows, which are known as an LGBTQ symbol. They also launched the Give a Hand project during the same time, supported by Give a Damn, which was about researching the needs of the LGBTQ community and create new queer-friendly vocabulary.

Rasan was supported by multiple partners to execute their projects, including COC Nederland, Kvinna Till Kvinna, All Out, Give A Damn, Oxfam, PlanetRomeo, USAID, and Asiacell.