half the population facing acute hunger. Launching its largest funding appeal in history, the UN is scrambling to provide assistance.
To ensure that it reaches everyone, donors must also address human rights. Danger, close at hand for LGBTQ+ Afghans, limits mobility and may obstruct access to aid.
OutRight Action International and Human Rights Watch interviewed 60 LGBTQ+ Afghans since the Taliban takeover. Many were in hiding.
Ali was hiding in an abandoned factory, sneaking out early each morning to buy food with the little money he had. He was anonymous threats by text message and had learned that his homophobic father, who was close to a senior Taliban official, was using his connections to hunt him down.