Gay men in Kabul say they fear for their lives under Taliban rule, as they hide at home, holding out in hope of a Western evacuation before Islamists carry out a threat to punish LGBTQ+ Afghans with death.
The Taliban says Afghans have nothing to fear, but reports of the group stoning gay men to death when last in power and of judicial support for a return now to capital punishment have left some LGBTQ+ people cowering indoors.
“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 by phone from Kabul.
The Taliban swept into Kabul on Sunday, completing a rapid military takeover of the country after the Americans began withdrawing troops.
Even before the takeover, gay men said it had been too dangerous to live openly in Afghanistan, whatever changes had been won over the past 20 years.
But the Taliban’s victory has raised fears of a return to brutality if strict sharia law is imposed and international attention fades.
“They 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.”
Frantic crowds have thronged Kabul’s airport desperate to board mainly Western evacuation planes, with LGBTQ+ Afghans among those who say they feel most at risk from Taliban rule.
Gay and lesbian sex is illegal under Afghanistan’s 2017 penal code and the death penalty is technically allowed under sharia law by the constitution, but has not been enforced since 2001, according to LGBTQ+ advocacy group ILGA-World.
Under the Taliban’s first regime, from 1996 to 2001, there were reports that men accused of having gay sex were sentenced to death and crushed by walls pushed over by tanks.
A Taliban judge has said that gay sex should be met with a death sentence of stoning or a toppled wall, according to an interview published last month by German newspaper ‘Bild’.
A Taliban spokesman contacted by WhatsApp message did not respond to a request for comment and did not answer phone calls.
The post LGBTQ+ Afghans in hiding, fearing death under Taliban appeared first on GAY TIMES.
LGBTQ+ Afghans in hiding, fearing death under Taliban
Gay men in Kabul say they fear for their lives under Taliban rule, as they hide at home, holding out in hope of a Western evacuation before Islamists carry out a threat to punish LGBTQ+ Afghans with death.
The Taliban says Afghans have nothing to fear, but reports of the group stoning gay men to death when last in power and of judicial support for a return now to capital punishment have left some LGBTQ+ people cowering indoors.
“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 by phone from Kabul.
The Taliban swept into Kabul on Sunday, completing a rapid military takeover of the country after the Americans began withdrawing troops.
Even before the takeover, gay men said it had been too dangerous to live openly in Afghanistan, whatever changes had been won over the past 20 years.
But the Taliban’s victory has raised fears of a return to brutality if strict sharia law is imposed and international attention fades.
“They 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.”
Frantic crowds have thronged Kabul’s airport desperate to board mainly Western evacuation planes, with LGBTQ+ Afghans among those who say they feel most at risk from Taliban rule.
Gay and lesbian sex is illegal under Afghanistan’s 2017 penal code and the death penalty is technically allowed under sharia law by the constitution, but has not been enforced since 2001, according to LGBTQ+ advocacy group ILGA-World.
Under the Taliban’s first regime, from 1996 to 2001, there were reports that men accused of having gay sex were sentenced to death and crushed by walls pushed over by tanks.
A Taliban judge has said that gay sex should be met with a death sentence of stoning or a toppled wall, according to an interview published last month by German newspaper ‘Bild’.
A Taliban spokesman contacted by WhatsApp message did not respond to a request for comment and did not answer phone calls.
The post LGBTQ+ Afghans in hiding, fearing death under Taliban appeared first on GAY TIMES.
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