LGBTQ Afghans at increased risk of rape, torture under Taliban rule: report

A report published Wednesday said that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Afghanistan have faced increased security threats to their lives and "dramatically worsened" conditions since the Taliban took over Kabul.

"The danger now facing LGBT people in Afghanistan-in an environment devoid of legal protections, under authorities that have explicitly pledged not to tolerate LGBT people-is grave," the report from Human Rights Watch and OutRight Action International said.

Two of the people interviewed for the report said members of the Taliban raped them following the August takeover of Afghanistan. Others said they were beaten on the street "for wearing clothes that did not conform to gender norms."

The report included interviews of 60 LGBT Afghans conducted between October and December of last year.

Many of those interviewed said they had been "attacked, sexually assaulted, or directly threatened by members of the Taliban because of their sexual orientation or gender identity."

Others added that they had been abused by "family members, neighbors, and romantic partners who now support the Taliban or believed they had to take action against LGBT people close to them to ensure their own safety."

Most of the people interviewed remained in Afghanistan, though some left for countries where they are still in danger and only a few moved to a new place where they feel safe.

But the report noted that evacuation was not a possibility for some given the challenge "for Afghans who face persecution on any grounds to obtain the documentation and financial resources needed to leave the country."

"For those who cannot or choose not to leave the country, it is urgent that their rights be protected within Afghanistan," the report said.

Even before the Taliban took over the country in August, Afghanistan had criminalized same-sex sexual relationships in 2018 under the government of President Ashraf Ghani.