The Taliban Will Have No Mercy: LGBTQ+ Afghans Go Into Hiding Global Development
Callamard also said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a “chilling example” of what can happen when states think they can flout international law and violate human rights without consequences. Since seizing power, the Taliban has waged a brutal crackdown on dissent that has targeted human rights defenders, women activists, journalists, and intellectuals. The militants have violently dispersed peaceful protests staged by women demanding their basic rights. He says he met them in secret locations in the city — underground guest houses and cafes. The Human Rights Campaign reports on news, events and resources of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation that are of interest to the general public and further our common mission to support the LGBTQ community. “He is very strict and wants me to dress like a man in public,” Shamela says.
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Remove and block abusive content and content that could put them at risk. Provide context-specific information in Dari and Pashto to users and advise on their rights and the applicable law. Ensure that civil society organizations, including LGBT organizations, are able to carry out work to assist LGBT Afghans who have fled the country without interference with their work or safety.
I’ve never had sex, never been in a serious relationship, and I’ve never kissed anyone. I’m really embarrassed by it and I have no clue how to “date” and be a good partner. Honestly I’m not really comfortable with going to bars or clubs and meeting people in person yet.
AFGHANISTAN SINGLES
After the Taliban came to power in 1996, bacha bazi was banned along with homosexuality, both carrying the death penalty. The young victims were often charged rather than the perpetrators. These men involved are sometimes called bacha bazi in Persian thesnackapp and seem to flourish in the big cities of Afghanistan, possibly due to poverty and the strict social taboos surrounding interaction between men and women. A law has been enacted prohibiting Afghan soldiers from having their “ashna” live with them.
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Both Naveed’s wife – their marriage was arranged – and children left Afghanistan for Europe a few years ago, seeking safety from a war that has killed or injured more than 100,000 people over the past decade, according to the United Nations. Farid Q., in his early 20s, said that he had confessed to a neighbor in August that he had a crush on him. We will arrest you – because I shared all of your info with Taliban groups.’” Farid said the man and other Taliban members came to look for him at his home several times a day for a week, but family members hid him until he was able to flee. The parents returned to Hamid’s house, saying they had heard rumors that Hamid was gay, and feared their son might have been killed because of their relationship. “It was a warning for me, too,” Hamid said, describing urgent steps he took to flee the country.
In 2004, an American advisor to the Afghanistan government was arrested and sentenced to a prison sentence for homosexual activities with an Afghan man. Other news reports also noted that other men have been imprisoned for engaging in such same-sex sexual behavior. In front of a mosque, I came across a group of construction workers on break, one in traditional clothing, which made for an ideal picture.
For many LGBT people still in Afghanistan, the most pressing threat is not from direct violence, but rather from the inability to earn a living or go out to purchase food or other essentials. Many economic challenges stemming from the Taliban takeover effect Afghans of all identities. LGBT interviewees with savings found, like other Afghans, that they have been unable to access their bank accounts.
Then her parents paid her husband to take her to a nearby country, telling him he’d have more luck finding work there. But one of her cousins got word to her husband that she is a lesbian. Now, Brushna said, her husband beats her nearly every day and will not allow her to leave the house. “I’m afraid he will kill me, or my uncle’s son will kill me,” Brushna said in a brief phone call while her husband was out of the house, the only time she was able to make calls. Her parents refused and engaged her to a man who didn’t know she was a lesbian.
Rights under pressure
Outside of this practice, teenagers and vulnerable adult men are frequently targeted for sexual violence, and authorities often further harm victims and make little effort to punish abusers. Activists who have denounced such violence have sometimes been subjected to reprisals. “My life is like a boat stuck in the sea—either it will move ahead or not. I’ll see,” said Zabi R., who fled Afghanistan to a country that outlaws same-sex relations. A trans woman hid under a hijab and face mask for a journey by bus but felt it was impossible to travel alone, as the Taliban often demand that a woman be escorted by a male family member. A friend of hers, a trans woman but able to pass for male, dressed as a man and accompanied her, pretending to be her brother.
To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi, click here. “Alarmed by reports that Matiullah Wesa, famous educator especially for girls, leading civil society member, & founder of PenPath1, has been arrested in Kabul by the Taliban. His safety is paramount & all his legal rights must be respected,” Bennett tweeted. Yet young boys are sometimes dressed as girls and made to perform. The practice of bacha bazi has reportedly spread since the fall of the Taliban, who declared it un-Islamic. It is this fear that has prevented Ahmad from revealing his sexuality to his parents and friends. His family of seven expects him to marry a woman and follow traditional social norms.
Although he was hiding his sexuality, Abdul had been enjoying his life in the country’s vibrant city centre. Under the Taliban’s interpretation of Sharia Law, homosexuality is strictly prohibited and punishable by death. Izak is a derogatory Dari term used for gay men and transgender women. Our thanks to the staff and partners of Rainbow Railroad, who are doing crucial work to assist fleeing LGBT Afghans and contributed to this report. Our greatest thanks, of course, go to the people we interviewed who shared their stories with us, which were often painful, and did so during what were usually extremely difficult moments in their lives. While LGBT people faced serious rights violations in Afghanistan prior to the return of the Taliban, some had found satisfying work and social networks with long-term partners and friends.