'LGBTQ+ Afghans running out of time', Charities warn amid Taliban's seizure of Afghanistan

Calls for the UK government to speed up the evacuation of the LGBTQ community in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan intensified on Saturday, October 30. According to The Guardian, the first LGBTQ+ group recently arrived safely in Britain, however, many are still left behind to face an uncertain fate as the Taliban has announced that the rights of the community would not be respected. But the UK Foreign Office has said that the group of 29 people, who identify themselves as gay, lesbian and/or transgender and who arrived in Britain, is “hoped to be the first of many” in the coming months. 

The Taliban announcement has left a large number of LGBTQ individuals stranded in the war-ravaged nation. While speaking to the media outlet, Gianluca Di Caro, chief executive of the British and Irish Boxing Authority (BIBA), said that the organisation has around 250 boxers and their families trapped in Afghanistan. Caro informed that out of the total, a significant proportion of them identify themselves as part of the LGBT+ community. 

The head of BIBA urged the UK government to get the trapped group out of Afghanistan “quickly”. Caro said that the organisation has already had female boxers who have been assaulted by the Taliban. He also went on to say that in some cases, the Taliban have also gone into some of the girls’ houses. It is to mention that BIBA has been in contact with the UK Home Office officials since the insurgent group returned to power in August. But the group now fears that time is running out. 

According to the media outlet, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, along with British LGBTQ+ group Stonewall and Canadian organisation Rainbow Railroad, have been working to ensure a safe passage for the LGBT community in Afghanistan to the UK. Nancy Kelley, Stonewall’s chief executive, reportedly said that her organisation had been campaigning to bring vulnerable Afghan citizens to the UK for a few months. Kelley even vowed to continue to push for international support to help those still in the war-torn nation. 

Status of LGBTQ+ community in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan 

Meanwhile, a Taliban judge had previously said that there were only two punishments for homosexuality - stoning or being crushed under a wall. It is to mention that homosexuality is illegal under the Taliban regime, as per the Islamic Sharia law. Even during their previous regime that ended in 2000, there were scores of reports of gay men being stoned to death and transgenders being executed amongst others. It is worth noting that even before the Taliban’s resurgence, Afghanistan was no safe haven for the queer community. Under the Afghan penal code, "pederasty" or a sexual act between two men was punishable with long-term imprisonment. 

Image: AP