Zhiar Ali

Zhiar Ali is a former animal rights activist and a Kurdish advocate for LGBT rights. He presently resides in the Netherlands after having been based in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. In Iraqi Kurdistan, Ali is known for his contributions to LGBT rights, including founding Yeksani, a group that works to promote LGBT rights in the Kurdistan Region, of which he is executive director. He was previously a founding member of Kurdistan Vegans, Iraq's first pro-vegan animal rights group, and has worked as a freelance journalist.