LGBT people have gone into hiding as the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan on August 15th, after the U.S. and its allies pulled their military out of the country. The invasion of Afghanistan needed to end, except the safe exit of Afghan people should have been prioritized before the Taliban had an opportunity to take power.
“The fall of Kabul wiped out the last vestige of government control after a ferocious Taliban offensive that took one major city after another in a matter of days,” according to the New York Times. “President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday. Hours later, Taliban leaders took his place in the presidential palace.
“The Taliban’s summer-long military campaign had forced widespread surrenders and retreats by Afghan government forces. Government troops abandoned scores of outposts and bases, often leaving weapons and equipment behind.
“In many cases, they surrendered without a fight, sometimes following the intercession of village elders dispatched by the Taliban. Thousands of Afghans, frightened of reprisal killings, are trying to flee the country, seeking refuge at Kabul’s international airport, which is held by foreign military forces trying to assist with evacuations. While some have been able to leave, there are many more left behind and determined to have a voice in the kind of country in which they live.”
“Protecting” the people of Afghanistan was the excuse to invade the country in the first place. Abandoning the citizens, without organising a lifeboat and overseeing their safe exit has already caused preventable death and destruction. Images and videos of Afghan people begging for assistance at Kabul’s international airport, even climbing on the exterior of planes to escape, are haunting.
What does this mean for Afghan LGBT people?
U.S. president Joe Biden portrays himself as a friend of American LGBT voters. Perhaps this is merely performative, because the way the Taliban views and punishes gay people is no secret. When they were last in power, gay men were stoned to death or “crushed by walls pushed over by tanks,” according to the Gay Times.
“I am feeling very uncomfortable, just crying and thinking, ‘What will happen?’” a 21-year-old student, whose name is being withheld to protect his identity, said to the Gay Times. “[The Taliban] are now telling the world, ‘We will not harm anyone, we will not kill anyone.’ But they are just lying,” the student said. “They will start to do things that they did back in 2001.”
Homosexuality is illegal in Afghanistan. The death penalty is allowed under sharia law but it hasn’t been enforced since 2001. The Taliban seizing the country means the death penalty will almost certainly be reinforced. “A taliban judge has said that gay sex should be met with a death sentence of stoning or a toppled wall,” in an interview last month.
“Even before the Afghan capital fell on Sunday, an English teacher, whose name and age are being withheld for his protection, was only able to meet his boyfriend in a park for 30 minutes a day after a relative discovered their relationship,” according to the Gay Times.
“Since then, apart from one phone call on Sunday when news broke of Kabul’s fall, he has not spoken to his partner of two years – the pair grew up together – as the house is full of relatives who had fled from other parts of Afghanistan.
“He described living in constant fear, awaiting the day when he is taken from his house to a deserted field outside Kabul, tried in a makeshift court then killed, something he heard had happened under the last Taliban rule.”
The man is terrified and feels betrayed by his country. “It’s more scary than ever…they will kill. There is no way to forgive the person [for being gay], because LGBT is out of Islam, out of every human behaviour – they think like this…My country never gave me an opportunity to show myself, to prove myself who I am…If I’m in a safe country, I will start studying teaching in a very professional way and I will promise that I will be one of the best.”
Micro Rainbow
Micro Rainbow provides safe housing to LGBT asylum seekers and refugees. The organisation facilitates access to employment, volunteer work, training and education for refugees. It also combats extreme social isolation faced by LGBT people with social inclusion programs.
“Micro Rainbow decided to create safe homes where LGBTQI asylum seekers can be safe whilst they go through the gruelling asylum process,” according to the Micro Rainbow website. “We operate 11 safe homes, four in the London area, six in the West Midlands and one in the North West. We can provide up to 18,980 bed-nights a year.”
“Running the safe houses and providing the extra support that LGBTQI asylum seekers need is expensive. However, together we can make sure that each person receives adequate bedding, food and clothing. I support homeless LGBTQI people whose families and governments have rejected them.”
Please consider donating to Micro Rainbow to help LGBT asylum seekers and refugees make their way to safety and settle in after they arrive.
