Dark Days Ahead for Afghan Gays as Taliban Takes Control
A gay Afghan man who worked for the United Nations now lives in fear as the Taliban takes over Kabul. The 37-year old Rameen (who is using a pseudonym) tells Business Insider over the phone that his life as been a "nightmare" since the Afghan government fell last week. "I just hope that somebody comes and wakes me up from this bad dream."
Despite homosexuality being illegal, Rameen says that he previously had been part of Kabul's thriving gay scene, visiting a clandestine karaoke bar weekly to be part of the country's hidden community."It was fantastic and so much fun," Rameen recalls.
Things have changed, literally overnight, for Afghan gays. Rameen hasn't seen his boyfriend for three weeks out of fear. "If the Taliban finds out about us, they'll sentence us to death," Rameen says, crying. "I think we will have to stop our relationship."
His grim assessment is shared by 21-year-old student Ghulam (also a pseudonym), who also fears that he may not see his partner again. "If we get caught, the Taliban will kill us," he told Insider during a phone call.
He has even dropped out of his university studies. "We cannot go out because we are just scared for our lives," he says. He added that he has "no future" in Afghanistan.�"If I had permission to get a visa to go to another country, I would not stay here for another second."
The Taliban is expected to implement a�stringent interpretation of Sharia law, which means homosexuality would be punishable by death. Earlier this summer the German newspaper Bild reported how a radical Islamic judge explained how he would implement punishment against gays. "There are only two penalties for gays: Either stoning or he has to stand behind a wall that falls on him.�The wall must be 2.5 to 3 meters high."
Bild added: "While Rahim talks about the cruel death penalty for gays, he doesn't change his face, a perfectly normal 'law' for the Taliban."
Sayad (another pseudonym), a 36-year-old gay man from northern Afghanistan's Balkh province, tells Insider via Facebook Messenger that he is also desperately seeking asylum from the new hardline Islamist regime.
He explains that he would like to escape to Canada because he fears for his life: "It's clear to me that as soon as the Taliban know that I am a gay man, they will kill me without even thinking about it."
Life, he says, has dramatically changed for the worse in the space of a week. "Previously, I could meet face-to-face with a partner without feeling any shame about it."
Nemat Sadat, the first public figure in Afghanistan to advocate for LGBTQ rights, tells Insider that he is helping gay Afghans like Sayed apply for asylum and leave the country. Sadat attempted to organize a LGBTQ rights movement in the country while teaching at the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul. After receiving death threats, including a�fatwa issued against him,�he left the country in 2013 to live in the United States.
"It's not hyperbolic to say that gay people will get weeded out and exterminated by the Taliban, just like the Nazis did," he told Insider.�"People are messaging me saying here's my passport, here's all my information, please get me out of this country, I'm going to die."
One LGBTQ Afghan who did escape is Najib Faizi, 21, who describes himself as the first drag queen of Afghan descent. He left Afghanistan at age 10 and sought asylum in Germany with his older sister.
Faizi told Insider that he doesn't take his freedom for granted. "I'm so happy here. I can do what I want. I'm free," he says.�But, he adds, he continues to get death threats.
"The drag queen said that over the past week, he has been fielding desperate pleas on Instagram from people in the country who hope to live freely like him one day," Business Insider writes.
"I hope others can get asylum. I have contacted people in Germany and said they have to help LGBTQ people. They need help," he says. "Nobody accepts them."