Taliban Targeting LGBT in Afghanistan
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| Taliban fighters patrol the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan, August 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)(AP PHOTO/RAHMAT GUL, FILE) |
Ali A., an 18-year-old gay man who lives in Afghanistan, has gone into hiding, leaving his shelter only once a day to secure a meager meal.
“I love my country, but I have to leave because I have to survive,” he told researchers from Human Rights Watch and OutRight Action International, which recently released a report chronicling the struggles of LGBT people in Afghanistan.
Though prejudice against LGBT predates the Taliban’s ascent to power, the situation has “dramatically worsened” following the Taliban’s seizure of power in August of last year, according to the report, called “Even If You Go to the Skies, We’ll Find You.”
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Ali is one of 60 LGBTQ Afghans interviewed by the two human rights groups from October to December 2021 under full or semi-anonymity due to fears of targeting by the Taliban.
While some LGBTQ Afghans have fled to Western or nearby countries, many still remain within Afghanistan’s borders and report being attacked, sexually assaulted or directly threatened by members of the extremist group. Others spoke of “abuse from family members, neighbors, and romantic partners who now support the Taliban or believed they had to take action against LGBT people close to them to ensure their own safety,” according to the report.
Despite the Taliban’s early promises to lead the country peacefully and inclusively, human rights advocates say the group has instead committed a wide array of abuses, including seizing land, revenge killings, cracking down on freedom of expression and discriminating against women and girls.
Afghanistan wasn’t a safe place for LGBT people even before the Taliban once again took control over the country. In 2018, the government passed a law that criminalized same-sex sexual relations. “The Taliban have echoed the previous government’s support for the criminalization of same-sex relations,” according to the report. And some leaders have expressed willingness to mete out harsh punishments to LGBT people.
“The danger now facing LGBT people in Afghanistan – in an environment devoid of legal protections, under authorities that have explicitly pledged not to tolerate LGBT people – is grave,” according to the report.
For Ali A. and others who want to leave Afghanistan, escape is not easy. According to accounts within the report, fleeing Afghans must pass through Taliban checkpoints. Others take their chances with smugglers. Once settled, many face legal uncertainty, as short-term visas risk expiration. Further, Afghanistan’s neighbors – Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan – share the country’s attitudes toward same-sex relations and gender nonconformity.
The report urges foreign governments to acknowledge that LGBT Afghans “face a special risk of persecution in Afghanistan and neighboring countries” and to accelerate efforts to get them evacuated and resettled.
“Governments have been slow to act. They don’t have the tools to act quickly,” Kimahli Powell, executive director of Rainbow Railroad, which helps LGBTQI+ persons facing persecution find pathways to safety, told Human Rights Watch. “For any intervention to be successful during a crisis, governments need to allow us to refer cases for immediate resettlement into those countries.”
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