The Taliban says Afghans have nothing to fear, but reports of the group stoning gay men to death when last in power and of judicial support for a return now to capital punishment have left some LGBTQ+ people cowering indoors. “I am feeling very uncomfortable, just crying and thinking, ‘What will happen?'” a 21-year-old student, whose name is being withheld to protect his identity, said by phone from Kabul.
The Taliban swept into Kabul on Sunday, completing a rapid military takeover of the country after the Americans began withdrawing troops.
Even before the takeover, gay men said it had been too dangerous to live openly in Afghanistan, whatever changes had been won over the past 20 years.