The Taliban Continues to Target LGBTQ Afghans

As reported by FRANCE 24, the Taliban has made a kill list for LGBTQ Afghans, a result of President Biden pulling out of Afghanistan earlier this year.

Rainbow Railroad—a nonprofit dedicated to helping LGBTQ refugees around the world—has been doing all they can to help Afghan refugees, while members of congress have pushed for Afghanistan’s LGBTQ citizens to be included in the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.

“We now know for sure the Taliban has ‘kill lists’ circulating, identifying LBTQI+ persons,” says Kimahli Powell, executive director of Rainbow Railroad, in speaking to FRANCE 24. “(Some) individuals who have reached out to us have told us about how they’ve received a mystery email from someone claiming to be connected with Rainbow Railroad asking for their information and passport. That’s how we know the information has been leaked.”

While homosexuality was already illegal in Afghanistan, the Taliban’s re-emergence means that any suspicion of same-sex attraction is punishable by death.

Gabir, a 26-year-old Afghan, lost his boyfriend of eight months to the Taliban, and was subsequently threatened himself. As LGBTQ Nation covered earlier this year, “The Taliban beat his boyfriend bloody, killed and dismembered him, and then threw his body parts in the street as a warning of how the Islamic militant group handles LGBTQ people. His boyfriend was 24 years old.”

“I know you are gay,” say the Taliban, who called Gabir after the murder. “Before capturing Kabul, we knew everything about you. You have three or four friends who are gay. You have a boyfriend. Once we settle here in Kabul, we will not let you live. If we find you, we will kill you.”

Gabir dropped out of university to go into hiding, cutting off friends and family in the process. As Powell of Rainbow Railroad reports, if you’re LGBTQ in Afghanistan, your family members may turn on you, too.

“As I said, this is really scary times, and people are trying to curry favor with the Taliban. I think everyone’s trying to navigate that environment, and so if they (the Taliban) have identified LGBTQ+ people as a target, there’s an incentive to turn them in.”

While in the process of working with an LGBTQ citizen, Rainbow Railroad was interrupted by the Taliban, who raided the home of the person they were trying to evacuate. “People entered the house without any sort of uniform, and while ransacking the place they discovered information that made them suspect the person was part of the [LGBTQ] community,” says Powell. “Then they took their phone, through which they confirmed the person was a part of the community and proceeded to physically assault and humiliate the individual. Then they found their passport and burned it.”

It’s a terrifying time to live in Afghanistan if you’re part of the LGBTQ community. Please consider making a donation through Rainbow Railroad in order to help our LGBTQ family in Afghanistan. While the nonprofit is doing great work, they are currently the only international LGBTQ organization on the ground, and could use all the help they could get.

“This has been the most complicated mission that we’ve done,” said Powell, “and continues to be so.”

Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona