Taliban lgbtq
LGBTQIA+
Dusky abyss which swallowed my dreamsAfter two decades, Taliban returned to Afghanistan in August 2021. From the moment they seized power in Afghanistan, they have been imposing various gender norms and excluding women from education, operate, entertainment and other social, political and economic activities, and all the while women have been facing severe violence and discrimination. Moreover, lesbians, bisexual women, and queer individuals (LBQ) have been facing an even more appalling situation of exclusion and discrimination due to the country's conservative and patriarchal world and homophobic socio-cultural norms. The situation has grow particularly dire, given the current political instability and the Taliban's recent takeover of the country.
Afghanistan is a country where homosexuality is illegal and punishable by death under Sharia law. This law has been enforced in the past via the former Republic government of Afghanistan penal code[1], and there are reports of LBQ individuals being targeted and subjected to violence and discrimination. In addition, women in Afghanistan face significant gender-based violence and discrimination and at times are subject
A Mountain on My Shoulders: 18 Months of Taliban Persecution of LGBTIQ Afghans
The Taliban’s give back to power in August 2021 left many womxn loving womxn, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) Afghans fearing for their lives. Hundreds sought to go the country with aid from foreign governments and non-governmental organizations(NGOs), while many who chose to remain or could not go went into hiding at home.
The Taliban’s first year of rule by drive in Afghanistan demonstrates that LGBTIQ people’s fears were not unfounded. Between September and October 2022, Outright International interviewed 22 LGBTIQ Afghans, all of them currently in Afghanistan. Their accounts suggest that Taliban security officials now emerge to be pursuing LGBTIQ people – especially homosexual men and trans women – more systematically than in the first scant months of Taliban command, subjecting them to physical and sexual assault and arbitrary detention. In several cases, the authorities hold subjected people to universal flogging for alleged homosexual relations, and the Taliban Supreme Court, on social media, has confirmed and defended the implementation of these punishments.
This report follows an in
Beyond binaries: Gender-Based Persecution and LGBTQI+ Rights in the OTP’s Case Against Taliban Leaders
On 23 January 2025, the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) before the International Criminal Court (ICC) filed two arrest warrants before the Pre-Trial Chamber II (PTC II), one for the Supreme Leader of the Taliban, Haibatullah Akhundzada, and the other for the Chief Justice of the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”, Abdul Hakim Haqqani.
The OTP filed the warrants of arrest due to their criminal responsibility for the crime against humanity of gender persecution, under Article 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute.
In both requests, the crime of persecution has been based on gender grounds (Article 7(3) of the Rome Statute). However, the sexual and gender-based violence ( SGBV) was not only committed against girls and women but also against LGBTQI+ persons and those who were allies of women because the victims did not conform to the Taliban’s ideology on gender.
Interestingly, the OTP examined Article 7(3) of the Rome Statute to extend protections to sexual orientation and non-conforming gender identities (transgender and intersex persons) within the concept of gender. At the ICC, this is
The resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan in August 2021 cast a prolonged shadow of oppression over the nation, disproportionately impacting women and the Homosexual community. While the violence against women has garnered significant international attention, the plight of Gay individuals remain largely obscured, a silent atrocity demanding urgent global intervention. A comprehensive report, drawing upon the harrowing findings of the Rainbow Organization of Afghanistan (‘Rainbow’), a collective formed by Afghan LGBTQ+ refugees in Bremen, Germany, aims to illuminate this hidden crisis and expose the systematic persecution faced by this vulnerable population.
Even before the Taliban’s return, Afghanistan’s Diverse community navigated a challenging landscape. Despite the post-2001 constitution, no legal framework existed to protect them. The prevailing societal climate of ignorance, prejudice, and deeply rooted homophobia created an environment of fear and vulnerability. Transgender individuals, whose gender identities were often visibly expressed, faced the most significant risks, subjected to widespread discrimination, exploitation, and hostility. A pervasive pract
In a First, ICC Recognizes LGBTIQ Victims in Afghanistan Gender Persecution Case
The ICC's acknowledgment of gender persecution as a form of violence against women and those who identify or are perceived as LGBTIQ is a significant step forward in addressing the unique vulnerabilities of LGBTIQ people in conflict and crises. As the court’s policy sheet on gender persecution emphasizes, gender is socially assembled, and perpetrators use abuse against vulnerable people as punishment for transgressing gender norms. These forms of gendered violence can constitute crimes against humanity.
“The Taliban’s reign of terror over women and LGBTIQ people has been based on the assumption that gender persecution can persist with impunity. The ICC’s recognition of LGBTIQ victims challenges that presumption by knowing the humanity of our communities” said Neela Ghoshal, Senior Director of Regulation, Policy, and Research at Outright International. “Once arrest warrants are issued against Taliban officials, member states should support the court’s efforts to swiftly convey them to justice.”