Iman Le Caire grew up in Egypt, where she faced immense persecution and abuse from her family for being transgender. Her journey to acceptance and finding her true self was a difficult one, but it ultimately led her to create Trans Asylias in 2021, an organization that helps transgender people find asylum abroad.
Le Caire’s own experience of fleeing Egypt to New York City in 2008 as an asylum seeker inspired her to create Trans Asylias. Through her organization, she has helped 10 people from places like Saudi Arabia, Jamaica, Syria, Yemen, and Egypt find safety.
For LGBTQ+ people, asylum is often a life or death matter, especially for those who are more visible and cannot hide. Same-sex sexual activity is prohibited in Egypt under a law that criminalizes acts of “indecency” and “debauchery.” LGBTQ+ people are frequently subject to arrest and abuse at the hands of violent gangs and corrupt law enforcement in Egypt.
Le Caire’s organization checks through trans people’s asylum applications, gives them advice, and raises money to fund their relocation to countries like France, the Netherlands, and Canada. Through her work, Le Caire feels like she has become a mommy to the women she has helped, saying, “I feel like I have children.”
Le Caire’s work is crucial at a time when some countries, like the UK, are hostile towards asylum seekers. The UK government’s Illegal Migration Bill has made many fear for the future. The bill would see adults who arrive in the UK via the English Channel or in the back of a lorry detained for 28 days and then sent back to their country of origin or a third country like Rwanda. It’s a move many LGBTQ+ rights and human rights campaigners have called dangerous for queer people fleeing for their lives from countries that criminalize their existence.
Le Caire says it’s “very hard” to hear such hostility towards asylum seekers, particularly because it shows how political leaders are failing to understand the very meaning of the word “asylum.” Instead of saying “I don’t want gay people,” she urges leaders to say “I’m hateful.”
Le Caire’s work is a beacon of hope for LGBTQ+ people facing persecution and discrimination in their home countries. She is fighting for their right to asylum and for leaders to understand the true meaning of asylum.
