LGBTQ+ Afghans say they are facing severe abuse, including rape and torture, in detention as the Taliban intensifies its crackdown on minority groups.
Reports from detainees reveal a harrowing pattern of violence targeting the LGBTQ+ community since the Taliban regained power in 2021 after the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from the Nation.
One survivor, Sohrab, shared his experience of repeated rape during his detention at Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul. Arrested on charges of sodomy after his family discovered his relationship with a boyfriend, the 19-year-old endured months of abuse before being released under threat of execution if detained again. “My whole body was praying for my death,” he told CNN.
Human rights organisations say the Taliban is systematically targeting LGBTQ+ individuals. Reports include accounts of electrocution, flogging with metal chains, and strangulation in detention centres. The nonprofit Roshaniya, which assists persecuted LGBTQ Afghans, has documented over 800 cases of violence since 2021, though it acknowledges this figure is likely an undercount.
In addition to detentions, transgender and gender non-conforming individuals are reportedly being stopped at Taliban checkpoints due to their appearance. Social media and phone searches have also been cited as tools used to track and arrest LGBTQ individuals.
Abdul, a 22-year-old gay man, said Taliban officials discovered LGBTQ-related content on his social media. He described being tortured daily during his six months in detention. “Every night, a big guy would come to beat me up,” he said. “Many times, I thought I was going to die.”
A spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed the allegations as fabrications, maintaining that their actions align with Islamic law. They stated, “Acts such as sodomy, bestiality, and other perversions… are illegal and perpetrators dealt with within the legal framework.”
Human rights advocates argue otherwise, pointing to evidence of public floggings and secret detentions. Open-source analysis by Afghan Witness has documented at least 43 public floggings involving charges of sodomy since late 2022.
Many LGBTQ+ individuals live in hiding, fearing both the Taliban and social ostracisation. Abdul, who was released after a friend paid $1,200 in bribes, said, “I am still in the Taliban jail, but the only difference is that I am not inside a prison.”
Some survivors have fled Afghanistan but remain vulnerable in countries that also criminalise homosexuality. Sohrab, now in hiding abroad, fears further persecution, saying, “I have to hide from everyone—family, friends, the government, life itself.”
International advocacy groups are calling for greater attention to LGBTQ+ rights in Afghanistan. The Afghan LGBTQ+ Organisation has verified more than 50 detentions of LGBTQ+ individuals since 2021 and is investigating 150 more cases.
Outright International’s Neela Ghoshal criticised the use of sexual violence as a weapon, describing it as a means of punishment and control.
Advocates have also criticised the United Nations for failing to address LGBTQ+ issues in reports on Afghanistan’s human rights situation. While some organisations have relocated individuals to safety, many feel abandoned by the international community.
For LGBTQ+ Afghans like Abdul, the lack of support is devastating. “Afghanistan itself is a prison for us,” he said.
