LGBT Afghans Face Grave Threats Under Taliban, Report Finds

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The Afghan LGBT community faced the ‘increasingly desperate situation’ after the Taliban State takeover, according to a recent report by Human Rights Watch and Outright Action International.

Ali A., a 18-year-old gay man who lives in Afghanistan, has been hiding, leaving his shelter once a day to secure a little food.

I love my country, but I have to go because I have to survive,” he told researchers from Human Rights Watch and Outright Action International, who recently released a report that recorded the struggle of LGBT people in Afghanistan.

Although prejudice against LGBT preceded the Taliban climbing to power, the situation had “dramatically deteriorated” after the Taliban power seizure in August last year, according to the report, called “Even if you go to the sky, we will find you..”

Ali was one of the 60 LGBTQ Afghanistan interviewed by two human rights groups from October to December 2021 under full or semi-anonymity because of fear of targeting the Taliban.

While some LGBTQ Afghanistan has fled to Western countries or nearby, many still live on the Afghan border and report attacked, sexually attacked or directly threatened by members of the extremist group. Others talk about “harassment of family members, neighbors, and romantic partners who now support the Taliban or believe they must take action against LGBT people who are close to them to ensure their own safety,” according to their reports.

Apart from the initial promises of the Taliban to lead the country peacefully and inclusively, the human rights advocate said that the group actually did a variety of violations, including landing land, the murder of revenge, cracking down freedom of expression and discriminating on women.

Afghanistan is not a safe place for LGBT people even before the Taliban once again took control of the country. In 2018, the government issued a law that criminalized same-sex sexual relations. “The Taliban has echoed the previous government support for the criminalization of same-sex relationships,” according to the report. And some leaders have expressed willingness to taste strong punishment to LGBT people.

The danger now faces LGBT people in Afghanistan – in an environment without legal protection, under the authorities who explicitly promise not to tolerate LGBT people – is a grave,” according to the report.

For Ali A. And other people who want to leave Afghanistan, escaping it is not easy. According to the account in the report, escaping from Afghanistan must pass the Taliban checkpoint. Others take their chances with smugglers. After being resolved, a lot of legal uncertainty faced the expiration of a short-term visa risk. Furthermore, neighboring Afghanistan – Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – share the country’s attitude towards same-sex relations and gender mismatches.

My life is like a boat trapped in the sea – whether it will move forward or not. I will see, “Zabi R., an Afghan LGBT who now finds himself in a bordering country, told researchers.

The report urged a foreign government to recognize that LGBT Afghanistan “faced a special risk of persecution in neighboring countries and neighboring countries” and to accelerate efforts to make them be evacuated and resettled again.

The government has been slow. They do not have a tool to act quickly,” Kimahli Powell, Executive Director of Rainbow Railroad, who helped LGBTQI people face the persecution of finding a lane for safety, told Human Rights Watch. “For each intervention to be successful during the crisis, the government needs to allow us to refer cases for resettlement directly to these countries.”