The Security Emergency Facing LGBTQI+ Afghans

Rainbow Railroad is in direct communication with hundreds of individuals in Afghanistan living in constant fear for their lives. LGBTQI+ Afghan asylum-seekers both in-country and in neighbouring states experience state-sponsored homophobic, biphobic and transphobic violence, as well as unique threats under the Taliban and at the hands of other militia groups. These individuals encounter insurmountable barriers to fleeing, and are unable to access typical UNHCR programs.

LGBTQI+ Afghans face extreme persecution and neighbouring countries in the region do not offer safe refuge. Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Iran enforce laws prohibiting various forms of LGBTQI+ identity, association, and expression, and there are frequent reports of state-sponsored and vigilante violence against LGBTQI+ persons in each of them.12 LGBTQI+ Afghans in these countries face continued threats to their safety and risk of refoulement. Beyond legal persecution, community reception of LGBTQI+ Afghans is often violent. For example, the U.S. Department of State Human Rights Report on Pakistan noted that violence and discrimination persists against LGBTQI+ people with impunity, as police generally refuse to take action.13 Added to this, many of those who escaped to nearby countries are on expired or short-term visas or arrived without visas, have no realistic prospect of extending their stays legally, and cannot settle permanently where they are.14

Rainbow Railroad has conducted in-depth interviews with LGBTQI+ Afghans living underground in Pakistan in which interviewees described living in constant fear of being returned to Afghanistan and hunted down in Kabul. Some noted that they were outed in the process of fleeing, either to their families or directly to the Taliban, and that they feared if they are sent back to their home country, they will be tortured or killed on arrival. Many informants also noted that LGBTQI+ people face multi-level threats under Taliban rule due to their additional status as human rights defenders, or because of their alignment with U.S.-based or supported organizations.

Rainbow Railroad possesses ample documentation of LGBTQI+ persons who have been violently attacked and targeted by the Taliban. Testimonies from LGBTQI+ Afghans include reports of widespread LGBTQI+-directed sexual violence by state authorities, family-facilitated murders of LGBTQI+ persons, and “kill lists” of LGBTI+ persons circulating among armed groups.15 The following quotations come directly from LGBTQI+ Afghans, and demonstrate the direness of the security emergency:

“Under the Taliban’s interpretation of Sharia law, homosexuality is strictly prohibited, and the Taliban has explicitly announced their intention to actively seek and exterminate members of the LGBTQ community. Gay people like me are sentenced to death by such methods as stoning or being buried alive under rubble. In the past month, Taliban forces have dismembered and shot dead people they discovered to be gay.”

“My friend called to inform me that the government surrendered to the Taliban. When the Taliban came, target killing started suddenly. My friend got killed, because the Taliban knew he was LGBT. They also knew I was a friend of his. I [escaped] to my grandfather’s house with my boyfriend and stayed there for 20 days. One day I was in the house, someone knocked on the door and I realized it was Taliban, and we both ran away from the house from the rooftop. The Taliban started firing at us.”

“When I moved to Mazar, I met a guy as well. He seemed like a nice person, we had sex twice and got into a relationship. After the Taliban took over, he joined them. He then contacted me. He sent me pictures of him with Taliban and said, ‘You’re gay.’ I was so scared I said, ‘No I am not gay.’”

Many Afghan nationals who have fled to neighbouring countries cannot wait for the RRAP’s private sponsorship process, even if the program were expedited under special circumstances. Individuals are at high risk of refoulement; if this took place, these individuals would face execution.