LGBTQ+ Afghans ‘suffer sexual and physical abuse’ in detention under the Taliban

LGBTQ+ Afghans have suffered sexual and physical abuse in detention centres under the Taliban, a CNN investigation has uncovered.

The report detailed the stories of five LGBTQ+ Afghans who had been detained in the country since the Taliban took back control, following the withdrawal of US troops in August 2021.

Nineteen-year-old Sohrab (not his real name) said a member of the Taliban “grabbed me from behind, tore my clothes apart and raped me”. He was sexually assaulted four more times.

“My whole body was praying for my death. Every time, he would threaten that if I dared tell anyone, he would kill me with his own hands.”

He had been detained on a charge of sodomy, after family members found out that he had a boyfriend and word of their relationship spread. After he was finally released, he was warned that if arrested again, he would face execution.

According to the LGBTQ+ equality monitoring website Equaldex, homosexuality is punishable by death in Afghanistan, while under Taliban rule all queer media is strictly censored. Dressing in the clothing of the opposite gender is also illegal under the extreme militant organisation.

Women’s rights have also deteriorated rapidly since the Taliban took over, with no education allowed beyond year six. They are also barred from the majority of workplaces, no longer allowed to visit parks and banned from reading, singing or speaking in public.

In addition, women are not permitted to travel more than 75km (47 miles) from their home without a male chaperone.

Twenty-two-year-old trans man Samiar also spoke to CNN and said he had been detained and beaten for wearing men’s clothes. Despite now being in a safe country, he said life under the Taliban was “forever etched in my mind: memories of fear, helplessness and loss of hope”.

A spokesperson for Human rights charity Roshaniya, which helps LGBTQ+ Afghans relocate, told CNN that it had documented 825 instances of violence against queer people since 2021, but believed the true number was much higher.

‘It gets worse day by day’

PinkNews has also spoken to LGBTQ+ Afghans living under the Taliban, with non-binary journalist and human rights activist Shah saying in 2022 that the situation “gets worse day by day”.

Shah, one of the activists behind the Behesht Collective, a group that provides counselling and shelter for LGBTQ+ youth in the country, said: “There are more than 500,000 LGBTQ+ people in Afghanistan and they are hiding from themselves because they will get murdered. There is too much violence and death.

“They have the right to live, hoping for the day that no one’s rights will be lost.”

In response to the CNN report, a spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “acts such as sodomy, bestiality and other perversions that contravene Islamic law are illegal and perpetrators dealt with within the legal framework”.

They went on to say: “These allegations are fabrications. The alleged claims of torture, rape, persecution and mistreatment are themselves explicit violations of the legal framework.”

Rape Crisis England and Wales works towards the elimination of sexual violence. If you’ve been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can access more information on their website or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999. Rape Crisis Scotland’s helpline number is 08088 01 03 02.

Readers in the US are encouraged to contact RAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800-656-4673.

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