Who Were The Qajars?

The news is going around breathlessly that 50.4% of births in the US in the past 12 months were to families categorized as ethnic minorities, presaging the time when ‘whites will be a minority’ in the US.

The unselfconscious deployment of these categories just takes your breath away. Who gets to decide which ones are ‘white’ and which ones ‘ethnic minorities?’

The founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, passed a fatwa in the 1980’s allowing sex change operations in the country.

Up until now - Iran’s welfare system paid a small amount toward these operations but they are very costly.

Now health insurance companies are obliged to cover all costs.

Karen Zarindast reports.

Video produced by BBC Persian’s Saeedeh Hashemi

Meanwhile, in Iran

For all those interested in conspiracy theories concerning dynastic names.

Over the next few months, Ajam Media Collective will host a series that focuses on and describes various elements of the cultural, ethnic and linguistic mosaic that we refer to collectively as Iran. This is Part 1 in that series.