LGBTQ people in Afghanistan face violence, rape and extortion, say human rights watchdogs

metroweekly.com:

report, from Human Rights Watch and OutRight Action International, conditions have “dramatically worsened” for LGBTQ people in Afghanistan — even though the country was never overly welcoming or accepting of homosexuality or transgender identity when the U.S.-supported government was in charge.

In fact, same-sex relations were criminalized under the old regime, just as they are under the Taliban — although the Taliban appears more willing to met out extrajudicial violence against those suspected of being LGBTQ.“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’s authors state.The report included interviews of 60 LGBTQ Afghans conducted between October and December of last year.

Respondents frequently report facing threats of violence or being outed by Taliban members — including other LGBTQ individuals and even past sexual or romantic partners who have since joined the Taliban to spare their own lives.

Those who wear clothes that do not conform to gender norms are regularly beaten on the street, and some people are even coerced into sexual servitude by members of the Taliban or high-ranking government officials.Many of the interviewees said they had been “attacked, sexually assaulted, or directly threatened by members of the Taliban because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.” Still others face regular abuse from family members, neighbors, and other close contacts who either support the Taliban or believe they must take action against LGBTQ people in order to ensure their own safety.