Bini Dahal

Afghanistan is now juggling with so many things besides the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the overthrow of former Afghani President Ashraf Ghani and his government in August last year, the Taliban have emerged as a major force in this conflict-hit nation. Their comeback has become a headache, especially for the marginalised and the excluded communities, including women and LGBTQ.

Afghanistan has always been a nation with dominant conservative ideas and thoughts. So the marginalised communities like the LGBTQ are not looked at in a positive light. Even during Ghani's rule, same sex relationship was prohibited and punishable by law. The Taliban hold a much more narrow view on this, which is reflected in the way the country and its people are getting moulded.
Recently, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report entitled “Even If You Go to the Skies, We’ll Find You”. This report has findings made through a survey of 60 individuals from the country's LGBTQ community between October and December last year. It has come up with a major finding that this marginalised community is going through a disastrous phase.

Some of the members of this community have been forced out of their homes by their own families with the onset of Taliban rule. Also, many have been attacked, threatened and sexually harassed as well. However, Taliban have denied committing any extrajudicial killings. The report finds it difficult to verify such activities due to media restrictions.

As per the report, Taliban have been going through people’s phones and their clothes to investigate and identify anyone who does not conform to the traditional male and female norms. Being unable to bear the difficulties, many have even fled to neighbouring countries. However, this is not an easy option. The countries which share border with Afghanistan include Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan also criminalise the same-sex relations. Iran is such a nation that charges even death penalty for such acts.

Looking at all these happenings, any layman can understand that Afghanistan’s human rights situation is going from bad to worse. The word 'freedom' has got completely erased from the Afghani society. Therefore, the international community needs to do something about it. The international community that includes international organisations, developed countries and donors should try its best to support the Afghan LGBTQ. It is necessary to hold diplomatic talks to ease the problem. Talibans should also be encouraged to revise their strict laws.

Even if the Taliban rulers do not come to terms with this, the international community should exert pressure on them. Likewise, social media platforms should also work towards protecting these people. They should immediately recognise the marginalised groups.

Despite the presence of a number of how-tos on improving the LGBTQ community’s condition, all the external actors will have to remember that it is difficult to immediately make Taliban change their ways. In no way will they go against the Sharia law and do something completely opposite. So, it will be a really tough task to perform. For safeguarding the marginalised and suffering Afghani community, countries like Canada have agreed to accept them as refugees. However, taking everyone into refuge might not be a long-term solution to this problem. But as long as they are protected, this step has to be taken by all those countries that have the power to give and support.