Coming-out of a transgender woman from Dagestan highlights problems of queer people in Northern Caucasus

In Northern Caucasus, transgender people face rejection from their relatives and friends and persecution, and they are exposed to mortal danger, therefore they prefer to hide their sexual orientation and leave their native lands, but they also face difficulties with employment and documents outside their homeland. This was reported by Deniz, a native of Dagestan, a transgender woman, in a video released on the “Novaya Gazeta. Europe” YouTube channel.

Deniz, a native of Dagestan, said that she was born a boy, but from early childhood she began to feel like a woman. She passed a medical examination and received a certificate of gender reassignment.

After moving to Moscow, Deniz was unable to find a job and went to work in the sex industry. “In addition to being a transgender woman, I am also a Dagestani. The level of xenophobia is very high,” the transgender woman noted.

Deniz said that her mother did not accept her and cursed her.

According to the Dagestani transgender woman, she repeatedly faced persecution and humiliation because of her orientation. She then joined a support group for queer women in Northern Caucasus and now helps LGBT people in Northern Caucasus.

Being a woman in Dagestan who does not fit into traditional ideas is very dangerous, says Deniz. “A woman should be accommodating, faithful to her husband, and her husband will walk and do what he wants,” the transgender woman said.