The Canadian government has promised to resettle a number of lesbian and gay people from Afghanistan in 2022, as well as female judges and their families. The female judges have been living in limbo, mostly in Greece, after they were evacuated from Afghanistan months ago. The group of lesbian and gay Afghans have been referred by an aid organization.
Before the announcement, Canada had already committed to resettling tens-of-thousands of Afghan people. “Canada has promised to resettle 40,000 Afghan refugees but has no timeline for doing so,” according to Reuters. “Since the Taliban took control of the country after the U.S. troop withdrawal in August, Canada has resettled 3,915 Afghans with connections to the Canadian government and another 2,535 on humanitarian grounds.”
Canada choosing to take in these cohorts is specifically due to the Taliban having a history of targeting such groups of people. Their homophobia and misogyny continues today. In fact, the Taliban compiled lists of LGBT people they aim to hunt down and murder soon after returning to power. Many of these people have been, or still are, in hiding to escape punishment and oppression.
“Afghan women made great strides in the two decades since the Taliban last ruled the country from 1996 to 2001, joining previously all-male bastions such as the judiciary, the media and politics.”
However, “All the achievements of 20 years came back to zero within the blink of an eye,” said Freshta Masoni, a family court judge staying in Athens.
The Taliban said they would protect women’s rights when they returned to power. They even announced an amnesty for former state workers. Advocates aren’t sold and, considering what the Taliban has done in the last few months, words aren’t measuring up with actions.
The Taliban’s promises are empty. Despite announcing an amnesty for former state workers, lawyer Bibi Chaman Hafizi, according to Reuters, “[said] the militants were going door to door, hunting for people who worked for the state, so she burned every document in her home and went into hiding. Then she fled the country.”
Bibi Chaman Hafizi is one of the judges hiding out in Greece. “When the Taliban came, we felt fear,” she said. “That if we fall into the hands of the Taliban, they will kill us.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has put added pressure on missions to resettle Afghan people. Those who have managed to find temporary accommodation in other countries have reported lacking health coverage due to their temporary visa status, putting them at higher risk of developing and suffering greatly from COVID-19.
“I would ask the international community to not recognise the Taliban,” Hafizi said. “What they say is different to what they do.”
