It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
When 21-year-old Hamza* posted a music video of himself, he put his life, quite literally, on the line.
Shy and reserved by nature, the aspiring young musician wished to share his passion with the world. So he took to the internet to post a video displaying his musical talent from the comfort of his room, without having to socialise in real life.
“I had always thought music was my true calling,” says the 21-year-old. “However, I did not have the confidence to play live in front of an audience, since that would trigger my social anxiety. A friend suggested that I post my music online instead.”
Still, sharing his secret passion was like exposing a part of his innermost self. “I had to muster a lot of courage to post my video online,” he admits.
Why do trolls find pleasure in harassing and cyberbullying strangers online and what factors perpetuate this damaging behaviour?
And the world was not kind to him in return.
While his video garnered some positive feedback, mostly it was panned by random strangers. Reading the negative comments that inundated his feed pushed Hamza into a dark place. “It plunged me into depression,” he says. So much so that it led him to attempt suicide.
He realises now that the opinions of people hiding behind spam accounts should not have bothered him but, at that moment, they chipped away at his already fragile self-esteem. “When you are being bullied in your real life, at least you can take a stand against one person,” he explains. “On the internet, however, I did not know how to fight these nameless, faceless people.”
According to various surveys across the world, there has been a rise in cases of people suffering from mental health issues after being trolled or harassed online. In internet parlance, trolling is a type of online bullying and is defined as aggressive and malicious online behavior. “Trolls” seek to deliberately provoke, bully and harm others via inflammatory messages and posts.
Although both trolls and cyberbullies share aggressive attributes, cyberbullies are not characteristically deceptive or randomly disruptive. On the contrary, research suggests that cyberbullies are often known to their victims in real life and the harassing behavior involved in cyberbullying is very direct and specifically targeted. Trolls, however, usually do not have a vendetta towards any particular person but are more likely to troll people with major followings.
What compels a person to spew hatred towards strangers?
Zehra*, 16, has been diagnosed with depression. “I feel so unhappy all the time and there is nothing I can do to make it better,” she explains. “So if I cannot make myself feel better, the only thing within my control is to make others feel just as miserable as I do. That is why I troll people, by making fake profiles on Instagram. It gives me a sense of satisfaction.”
According to Dr Hadia Pasha, associate director of Counseling Services and Wellness Office at Aga Khan University (AKU), a person may choose to defame, ridicule or libel someone else to express anger, take revenge, gain attention or to derive sadistic pleasure by seeing the impact their actions have on the victim.
“All these situations are intentional, where the perpetrator is either incapable of experiencing empathy or chooses to ignore feelings of concern for the other by convincing themselves that the victim deserves this treatment,” she says.
Research conducted by an Australian cyberpsychology expert, Evita March, helps outline a psychological profile of online trolls. Trolling was strongly associated with what is called the Dark Tetrad personality traits. These comprise of Machiavellianism (callous, manipulative and deceptive traits), psychopathy (amoral and antisocial behaviour), narcissism (a grandiose sense of self-importance and a lack of empathy for others) and sadism (deriving pleasure and gratification from the pain or humiliation of others).
Of the Tetrad traits, psychopathy and sadism have been found to correlate more strongly with internet trolling in past studies, as well as with cyberbullying. Men were more likely than women to troll the internet and scored significantly higher on all the Dark Tetrad traits.
Sohrab*, a 19-year-old boy, was brought to therapy by his parents on account of temper tantrums and behavioural issues. Among other things, one of the reasons he was having behavioural issues at home was that he was not a popular kid at school. He discovered later that he could get the social validation he craved from online strangers when he posted mean comments under photos of celebrities.
“The more vicious my comments, the more engagement they get,” he says, “whether it be in the forms of likes or comments. If I don’t write things like that, no one reads me. I do not troll people because I hate them. It’s just so that my comment does not get lost among all the others. I just want to be noticed.”
This is not surprising since low self-esteem has been found to be directly related to trolling. Research on loneliness and aggression suggests that loneliness represents a state of chronic frustration, caused by social isolation and needs that are not being met. Hence, it can express itself in maladaptive ways, such as aggression towards others.
One important factor that perpetuates online trolling is anonymity, which leads to “online disinhibition effect” — the tendency to experience a dramatic loosening of inhibitions and social restraints on the internet. This means that even people who would never bully someone in real life might indulge in “trolling” others on the internet. This disinhibition effect encourages mob mentality and groupthink.
“The internet provides a convenient shield for a lot of people,” explains Asha Bedar, a senior clinical psychologist, trainer and researcher. In fact, research shows that, for people who lack confidence in real life, the internet is a channel to express their dormant and suppressed emotions.
“So it has provided this platform to people who otherwise may not be that expressive,” says Bedar. “You get attention, an audience and a safe space — since no one can harm you, no one can see you, there is no accountability. This can also be a good thing but, on the flip side, this means that there are very few filters and social etiquettes in place when we express ourselves on the internet.”
Bedar further adds that trolling is being justified since the internet as a public space allows toxic opinions. Offensive, inappropriate expression is becoming normalised to the point where we stop seeing it as problematic, until it becomes dangerous. “The internet has become a dumping ground for a whole lot of emotional issues,” says the psychologist.
Since our virtual lives spill over into our real ones, the impact of internet trolling is also not confined to virtual space. Victims of trolling can experience a variety of psychological, social and emotional issues in their real lives. Online trolling can aggravate self-esteem, body image and anxiety issues, since it confirms a person’s most negative beliefs about themselves.
The inquiry report Safety Net: Cyberbullying’s Impact on Young People’s Mental Health reveals that 60 percent of young people in the UK have witnessed online bullying but most do not intervene. A 2018 Pew Research Center survey revealed that Instagram has been reported as the social media platform where maximum people have experienced internet trolling. 42 percent users of Instagram have experienced harassment on the platform, as indicated by The Annual Bullying Survey 2017, carried out by a youth charity in the UK.
Children and young people under 25 who are victims of cyberbullying are more than twice as likely to self-harm and enact suicidal behaviour. Also, perpetrators themselves are also at higher risk of experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviours according to a systematic review study led by Professor Ann John at Swansea University Medical School in collaboration with researchers from the universities of Oxford and Birmingham.
One of the least discussed forms of cyberbullying is where certain people are continuously ignored in virtual social groups, so much so that they start feeling insignificant and rejected by their peers.
“This is a form of covert bullying that is similar to ostracisation in real life,” says Dr Pasha from AKU. “While not involving any direct offensive behaviour, it creates deep scars on a person’s sense of self-worth, leading to low self-esteem, feelings of hurt, loneliness and, in many cases, depression.”
According to L1ght, an organisation that monitors online harassment and hate speech, there has been a 70 percent increase in the amount of internet trolling/hate speech among teens and children from December 2019 to late 2020, since the Covid lockdowns began. This can be attributed to pandemic-related factors such as prolonged isolation, pent-up frustration at circumstances beyond our control and the socio-economic repercussions of the pandemic. All of this has led to a general increase in stress levels and mental health deterioration, which gets displaced by vitriol against strangers online in the form of trolling.
Victims of internet trolling and harassment in Pakistan can reach out to various resources. The Cybercrime Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) directly receives complaints and takes legal measures against cyberbullies and harassers. The Digital Rights Foundation also has a toll-free and confidential Cyber Harassment Helpline which provides legal advice, digital security support, psychological counselling and a referral system to victims of online harassment.
*Names have been changed to protect privacy
The writer is a clinical associate psychologist and freelance journalist. She can be reached at rabeea.saleem21@gmail.com
IT is unfortunate that the incidence and causes of suicide remain under-researched in Pakistan. That is why a study conducted by researchers at the University of Peshawar on high suicide rates in the Chitral region is a useful contribution. As media reports, human rights activists and isolated surveys have indicated, suicide rates have remained above average in Chitral. Similarly, in Thar, Sindh, suicide rates among young people are higher than in other areas of the province. According to the findings of the above-mentioned study, a total of 176 people in Chitral ended their lives between 2013 and 2019. The research also lends credence to what other observers have pointed out — that more young people and women are taking their own lives than men. Out of those who committed suicide, 144 were between 15 and 30 years old, while 58pc were young women.
However, along with the usual suspects such as poverty and domestic violence, the researchers found an unexpected factor pushing young people to a state of isolation and hopelessness. They discovered that academic failure and high parental expectations were also key factors in driving the youth towards this irrevocable step. It indicates that while goal- and job-oriented education has penetrated the region, social expectations have reached distressing heights. Similarly, because the area’s integration into the national mainstream has not been achieved, the local culture has developed in isolation and now clashes with the goals and aspirations of the youth. Meanwhile, media reports from last year suggest some lowering of the suicide rate among females due to the establishment of women-centric help desks at police stations, but the true impact of this will only surface after a comprehensive government survey. The local administration should ensure that these desks keep functioning so that women can turn to them. The authorities should take valuable lessons from the Chitral study to reorient their social and economic development priorities. True development stems from a change in behaviour, and not merely from an increase in the number of schools, colleges and jobs.
SECTIONS of the clergy and society have issued an outright condemnation of the dance performance that took place at the Independence Day ceremony as shameful and going against the ideology of Pakistan. They criticised the government for allowing such ‘objectionable acts’ in its annual Aug 14 celebrations.
Needless to say, freedom of expression is the democratic right of all Pakistanis, including clerics. Still, these reactions reflect a bitter dichotomy that state and society have failed to address even after 75 years of being independent. This dichotomy is related to a vague sense of national identity, which overshadows not only politics and social coherence, but also statecraft and the behaviour of state institutions.
The average Pakistani wants to be modern within a religious frame. Neither the clergy nor the state can build such a unique citizenry. As a result, religion has become a tool in powerful hands. Religious elites and civil society have taken different positions, inspired by various forms of religiosity and liberalism respectively. A major challenge confronting both state and society today is how to reconcile the diverging notions of identity in Pakistan’s nationhood discourse.
The use of religion may not be a unique phenomenon in societies where power elites control the system through electoral processes or any form of authoritarianism. However, the excessive use of religion by the power elites in Pakistan has triggered societal decay, which is a major contributor to the chronic crisis the state is suffering. On the one hand, all economic, social and political indicators are in decline; on the other, religious institutions are thriving in the country. The ultimate victim of the crisis is the youth, who are confused and have minimal potential to thrive when compared to their counterparts in neighbouring democracies. Democracy is merely a slogan for political parties, which actually lack democratic processes and exploit whatever flaws they see in the latter
The responsibility for this state of decay lies with all institutions.
Pakistan ranks 123rd on the global Democracy Matrix, just two points better than Afghanistan, and falls in the category of hybrid regimes. According to Freedom House’s latest ranking, Pakistan is 37th from the bottom on its freedom status index; political and civil rights are in a shambles. Pakistan is sliding on the Fragile States Index, according to the Fund for Peace’s latest indicators. All this shows a decline in the economy, politics and social cohesion. Two trends are going up: demographic pressures, and the elite’s unity to protect its collective interests. An ordinary man is paying for the cost of unity of power elites as economic inequality rises and the state loses its legitimacy. One outcome of this situation is capital flight and brain drain.
Neither the founders nor the supporters of the idea of Pakistan would have thought that in the year of its diamond jubilee, their beloved motherland would have been in the throes of such a crisis. Optimism about the future has become a rare commodity even among sections of the elite, and religion has become a refuge for the ordinary citizen. It is an easy way out for the elites to keep ‘harmonising’ society through religious education and indoctrination. Educational curricula are dogmatic, and the schooling system discourages critical thinking and learning. As a result, even educated youth fail to develop the ability to think clearly and rationally.
According to a study conducted by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies to assess the thinking patterns of the educated youth, a major section of this cohort thinks that democracy is the most suitable system for Pakistan. At the same time, they believe that previous dictatorships in the country were justified.
This is a collective failure, and the responsibility for this state of decay lies with all institutions. Apparently, every institution has ideas on how to bring the country out of its crisis, but the will and capacity to do so are lacking. This month alone, many papers and articles are being published about the factors leading to the state of continuing rot, with intellectuals and experts suggesting solutions for improving the economy and political stability, and advocating a balanced geostrategic approach, and implementing reforms in education and governance. The recommendations are worthy, but the mother of all challenges is: who will take the initiative?
This is not only the era of narratives which influence minds and the policies of states; it is also a time when the clash of narratives creates the ambiance for dialogue. It is not surprising when political parties and civil society suggest a dialogue or a charter to resolve challenges ranging from the economy to politics to extremism. However, the question is: who will be part of that dialogue and who will initiate it? Senator Raza Rabbani has suggested a dialogue within institutions to resolve civil-military imbalances. But why would a strong institution talk to a weaker stakeholder on equal terms? Especially when the political leadership across the board is happy to remain subservient?
Perhaps, the political parties themselves will have to initiate a dialogue among themselves. The Charter of Democracy is a model, and on similar lines, all major political parties can initiate a dialogue to decide on a basic framework of political engagement and strengthen parliament. The political actors should decide to reform their political structures, make them democratic and inclusive, and resolve all their differences. Rather than calling upon the ‘neutrals’ to change their approach, Imran Khan should take this initiative. Mian Nawaz Sharif is himself an architect of the Charter of Democracy. And who knows the cost of democracy better than Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari?
Dialogue among parties is essential but state and society also need a charter to change the national outlook, which should be moderate and acceptable, not for the world but for us. That will make this country a place where the weak feel safe, and the strong do not abuse their power, religion or numerical strength. The writer is a security analyst.
AWAY from the media’s limelight, which remains almost completely riveted on the drama playing out in Islamabad, a wave of death and destruction continues to wash over Pakistan. From the heights of the Himalayas to the shores of the Arabian Sea, floods triggered by heavy rainfall continue to wreak havoc, destroying livelihoods and sweeping away entire settlements, leaving death and misery in their wake.
Climate change is no longer an abstract doomsayer’s warning: the climate has changed, and it has caught us completely unprepared. The Pakistan Meteorological Department has said as much in reference to the 385pc higher rainfall in Sindh and 371pc higher rainfall in Balochistan so far this summer.
The unseasonably high rainfall had been preceded by back-to-back heatwaves in the two provinces, which created the conditions necessary for the disaster that later unfolded. There are strong fears that these extreme weather patterns may become the ‘new normal’ for Pakistan.
Every day seems to add to the death toll from this year’s rains, with Balochistan seemingly the worst-affected province.
It is unfortunate, given the scale of destruction that is being faced, that there seems to have been no effort so far to formally map the disaster-struck areas or highlight the geographical zones which continue to face increased risk. If such information has, in fact, been collated by any authority, it must be shared publicly so that the scale and nature of the disaster seen this summer can be studied for the future.
It also seems that disaster response is still being conducted on an ad hoc basis rather than under a strategy to pre-empt loss of life and livelihood. This must change.
The destruction of life and property at the scale seen this year makes for a very expensive lesson for administrators and provincial governments to learn what their development priorities ought to be for the future. Clearly, climate resilience must be the defining feature of any rehabilitation and reconstruction work done from this point on. The infrastructure that has been destroyed and the villages that have been wiped off the face of the earth must be rebuilt, keeping in mind that what has happened this year can and will most likely happen again: if not next year, then the next, or the year after.
Apart from that, a massive effort will also need to be put into educating the citizenry at the community level about how they can adapt to the changing climate. Where to build settlements and plant crops, how to protect lives and livestock, and how to survive during a natural disaster are just some necessary areas where the government can provide support by linking experts to the citizenry.
The changing climate requires a bottom-up approach to adaptation if we want to survive. That should be the primary focus once the reconstruction starts.
Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2022
Safety concerns loom as writers show public support for Rushdie
AUGUST 19, 2022PUBLISHED AT 9:24 PM
Supporters of author Salman Rushdie attend a reading and rally to show solidarity for free expression at the New York Public Library in New York City, US, on Aug 19, 2022.
Reuters
NEW YORK – Under the watch of counterterrorism officers and police in tactical gear, hundreds of people gathered in front of the New York Public Library on Friday to show support for Salman Rushdie, the author stabbed multiple times at a literary event a week ago.
Irish novelist Colum McCann, British writer Hari Kunzru and others read passages from Rushdie's works from the top of the flagship library branch's steps off Manhattan's Fifth Avenue.
Below, at a distance enforced by organisers, a crowd of about 400 people gathered to listen, breaking out into a chant of "Stand with Salman" when the event concluded.
Some held signs depicting Rushdie and quoting him saying, "If we are not confident of our freedom, then we are not free."
Police say Rushdie was attacked by a 24-year-old New Jersey man who rushed a stage and stabbed the writer in the neck and torso at a literary festival in western New York last week. Rushdie, who was rushed to a hospital, survived.
There were no bag checks or metal detectors to screen for weapons ahead of the appearance by Rushdie, who had been living under a death sentence for 33 years.
A supporter holds up a copy of Shame by author Salman Rushdie while attending a reading and rally to show solidarity for free expression at the New York Public Library in New York City, US, on Aug 19, 2022. PHOTO: Reuters
The suspect has pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder and assault charges.
"I hope this is a wake-up call that people like Salman, who are fearless, who write things as they see them, who are not afraid to speak the truth as they view it, really are in danger," said Pen America Chief Executive Suzanne Nossel.
The nonprofit free-expression and human rights group helped organise the event.
Attendees spoke of their worries for themselves and other writers following the attack.
A supporter of author Salman Rushdie reads an excerpt from his works during a reading and rally to show solidarity for free expression at the New York Public Library in New York City, US, on Aug 19, 2022. PHOTO: Reuters
"We're all in danger. And some of us are more overtly in danger than the rest," Iranian-American author Roya Hakakian said in an interview.
While the death sentence, or fatwa, ordered on Rushdie by Iran was among the most high-profile threats, many authors say harassment and calls for violence have become part of the experience of being a writer.
Love Is an Ex-Country author Randa Jarrar said in an email interview this week that she had to learn how to "better aim a gun" and prepare physically in case of attack after a tweet about former first lady Barbara Bush prompted threats.
When Bush died in 2018, Jarrar described her as an "amazing racist" for a comment about the majority-Black communities displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
The Muslim author said she feared for her life when critics posted her home address and phone number online. She and her child began receiving death threats.
Supporters of author Salman Rushdie attend a reading and rally to show solidarity for free expression at the New York Public Library in New York City, US, on Aug 19, 2022. PHOTO: Reuters
Every threat she received mentioned that she is Muslim and warned her to go back to where she came from, Jarrar said. She moved, and hired a company to scrub her private data from the internet.
Queer Chicana writer Myriam Gurba faced threats after she criticised author Jeanine Cummins in 2020 of cultural appropriation in writing the novel American Dirt, which focused on a Mexican woman who escaped a drug cartel to build a new life in the US as an undocumented immigrant.
Gurba said many people supported her, but she also received threats of violence on her phone and the internet.
"The first death threat that I received stated that the police should execute me for my stupidity," she said.
This week, police in Scotland said they were investigating a threat against Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling following her tweet voicing concern for Rushdie.
At least one upcoming literary festival is tightening security. Organisers of September's National Book Festival, hosted by the Library of Congress in Washington, had already planned to require bag searches.
Now, the festival is working with law enforcement to add extra measures, a spokesperson said.
At the New York Public Library, some writers said they did not fear gathering in public.
"The only time I got anxious was when they told us how much security there was going to be, thinking maybe there have been some threats, but I doubt it," author Paul Auster said.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan has termed the knife attack on award-winning author Salman Rushdie “terrible” and “sad” which could not be justified in the name of Islam.
In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, Mr Khan commented on the attack on the India-born author, saying: “I think it is terrible, sad.”
“Rushdie understood, because he came from a Muslim family. He knows the love, respect, reverence of a prophet that lives in our hearts. He knew that. So the anger I understood, but you can’t justify what happened,” the PTI chairman gave his two cents on the attack that had sent Mr Rushdie to a ventilator.
During the interview, Imran Khan also spoke about the situation in Afghanistan and enforced disappearances in Pakistan.
“They [security forces] were responsible for picking up people, but according to them they were involved in this insurgency, which was going on in Balochistan and the tribal area bordering Afghanistan. So they would blame that, with some justification, because you could not convict terrorists in the courts because you wouldn’t get witnesses,” Mr Khan said in a comment on missing persons.
“In my time, we never tried to oppress the media. The only problem was that sometimes the … security agencies — three or four times we found out that picked someone up and immediately when we found out we would immediately have them released,” he told The Guardian.
About Afghanistan, Mr Khan said Afghans needed to take charge of their destiny. “Eventually Afghan women, the Afghan people, will assert their rights. They are strong people,” he said. “But if you push the Taliban from the outside, knowing their mindset, they will just put up defences. They just hate outside interference,” he was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2022
‘Filthy and inhumane’: Trade deal critics slam Australia’s decision to continue battery farming
London: Critics of Australia’s free trade deal with the United Kingdom say Australia’s decision to continue allowing battery egg farming for another 14 years underlines their concerns about the country’s poor animal welfare standards.
Australia and the UK signed the trade deal last year, eventually giving Australian meat producers unfettered access to British markets.
Australia continues to use battery cages for egg-laying hens.
CREDIT:WAYNE TAYLOR
UK farmers have savaged the agreement as unfair and complained that Australia’s less strict animal welfare rules put them at a disadvantage.
While poultry and eggs were not included, critics said revelations Australia will continue to use battery cages for egg-laying hens for up to 25 years after they were first banned in the UK proved their criticisms were valid.
“Minister Murray Watt says he is balancing science with animal welfare – he frankly is not,” MacNeil, an Scottish National Party MP, told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
“He is throwing animal welfare out the window to make cash in literally a filthy and inhumane way.
“It doesn’t bode well for trade partners of Australia when this is their actual laissez-faire attitude to animal wellbeing rather than fair and humane treatment all round.
“For some, it will seem that Australia is being unscrupulous and careless regarding animals for trade advantages.
“And the fact that they try and sweeten this by saying it is to 2036 gives the game away – they are doing wrong and Australia knows they are doing wrong because what will be so different in 2037?” he said.
Anne McIntosh, a Tory peer and former Member of the European Parliament, said the UK should have insisted on protections for chickens as part of its trade deal.
“British producers and consumers place a high priority on animal welfare in food production,” the Baroness said.
“Therefore it is a matter of great regret that a free trade deal has been sought between the UK and Australia that does not cover animal health and welfare of eggs and chicken,” she said.
National Farmers Union Cymru director John Mercer said Welsh farmers had been producing eggs free of battery cages since 2012, with the European Union first voting to outlaw them at the turn of the century.
“Welsh farmers are proud to produce quality, affordable, sustainable food to the highest production standards,” he said.
“In the poultry sector, since 2012 the use of conventional cage systems in the UK has been banned and we have national legislation in place governing the welfare of our laying hens.
“Industry data shows that 89 per cent of Welsh laying hens live in free-range systems and those in barns benefit from a variety of enrichments.”
World Animal Protection said Australia continues to lag on hen welfare behind the EU, New Zealand and some American states committed to phasing out cages from 2012.
The fresh criticisms come amid a political row over animal welfare standards that’s surfaced during the ongoing Tory leadership contest between Liz Truss, who signed the UK’s first brand new trade deal after Brexit with Australia, and Rishi Sunak, who has said the agreement left British farmers shortchanged. UK Tory leadership candidate Liz Truss.
CREDIT:GETTY IMAGES
UK Environment Secretary George Eustice said he had faced an uphill battle to convince Truss to reflect Britain’s animal welfare standards in new trade deals and that it was a key reason why he was backing Sunak.
“He’s got a position that I am much more comfortable with than I suspect will be the position with Liz Truss, and that is the position on international trade: he has made it clear that we shouldn’t compromise on animal welfare standards,” Eustice said.
“It is fair to say there were some challenges I had in getting Liz Truss to recognise the importance of animal welfare in particular and that we should reflect it in trade agreements.”
On Friday, Sunak fronted a question and answer session known as “hustings” for rural voters hosted by the National Farmers Union. Truss boycotted the event.
Some LGBTQ Afghans Are Finally Safe. Thousands Are Not.
THE DAILY BEAST -August 20, 2022
LONG READ
It was “so hard” to leave his family in Afghanistan, Talha told The Daily Beast. Then he began crying, recalling the desperate dash to get out of the country, and saying goodbye to his loved ones. “I cried. My family cried. They were happy and also sad.”
Speaking by phone from Canada where he has now been resettled, Talha said, “Having to leave Afghanistan when you are LGBTQ is like having to cut your hands even though you love your hands. You use your hands, you need your hands, but you have to cut your hands. If you don’t, someone else will cut your hands. That’s what it’s like for LGBTQ Afghans right now.”
“My family helped me pack my things,” Talha recalled. “My mum hugged me and told me, ‘Goodbye my son. Leave this country because this country will not be safe.’ She doesn’t know I am LGBTQ but knows the Taliban harass the Hazara people—she, like me, is Hazara. We hugged and said goodbye. I cleaned my phone of everything in case the Taliban stopped me. I sat on the bus thinking, ‘Why is it like this? Why do we have to leave this country? Why are we in this situation?’ There were so many ‘whys’ in my brain. I was also so scared the Taliban would stop the bus and harass and beat me. I hid behind my mask and scarves.”
During his escape, aided by the advocacy group Immigration Equality, Talha reached a friend’s house, stayed there for the night, and then made his way to the airport, terrified again of being captured—and what would happen if the Taliban arrested him. “At that moment you accept the possibility of death, but you want to leave Afghanistan and live.”
Talha is far from alone. Since the Taliban takeover of last August, just over 5,400 queer Afghans have reached out to Rainbow Railroad, an organization that helps LGBTQ people escape state-sponsored violence—“an overwhelming number,” said Dane Bland, the organization’s director of development and communications. The Taliban’s persecution of LGBTQ people is relentless and vicious.
Rainbow Railroad has provided support to 648 queer Afghans to date, including 247 that they have so far successfully evacuated in a refugee-sharing agreement between Canada and the United States; 150 of that number have been resettled, with 50 more soon to do so, said Bland.
Bland said there were another 300 LGBTQ Afghans, who are ready to travel to the West with all necessary documents, certified and vetted, presently in camps—or awaiting resettlement—in countries like the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan.
“I’m an Afghan gay man who recently came to Canada. In Afghanistan I couldn’t study, work or be free,” one Rainbow Railroad client said. “I couldn’t dress as I like, because I’m a gay man. I was beaten twice by the Taliban because I ‘act like a girl.’ They kept me from going to university, and called me ugly names. I fled the country when the Taliban came to Kabul. I was scared because I know they kill people like me. Rainbow Railroad helped me get to a neighboring country. Now, I live in Canada, and I am so happy. But my friends are still in Afghanistan, and they can’t leave.”
Rainbow Railroad says they are ready to work with any Western government to take in these refugees, but the system has become paralyzed with LGBTQ Afghans unable to flee their home country or stuck in refugee camps or in so-called “third countries” unable to move to Western countries. Advocacy organizations like Rainbow Railroad and Immigration Equality want LGBTQ refugees to be defined as a priority population under the P-2 program presently reserved for those Afghans who worked with the United States.
Most queer Afghans have been resettled in Canada, with “only a handful,” said Bland resettled in the United States. Canada had promised to resettle 40,000 Afghans; just over 17,000 have been resettled to date. The Biden administration set a cap of resettling 125,000 refugees in the last year, but only 15,000 refugees have been resettled in the U.S. since last October.
“Even if we go to the moon, Afghanistan is our country. We love our country. Our country is like a mother.”
— Talha
After a period of time in a camp in a neighboring country, Talha made it to Canada. “Emotionally I feel free here. I can be what I am and,” Talha’s voice broke. He began crying again and the line was silent for some minutes before he could speak again. “It was so hard… for us. We left our families, our country, our friends. And now we are safe we can be whatever we want and we can live here without any harassment, without any fear. People accept us. We don’t have any worries, we are not scared. We can be like a bird that’s free, that has its freedom and can fly everywhere it can go.”
Talha misses his home country acutely. “Even if we go to the moon, Afghanistan is our country. We love our country. Our country is like a mother. We miss our families. But we had to leave, and now we are safe, and I am so happy for that.”
Another gay man, C, who The Daily Beast spoke to last December, finally arrived in Canada this summer—aided by Immigration Equality—after spending 10 months in a refugee camp. “Very happy,” he is presently living in a hotel as he waits for various immigration-related documents to be finalized. He cannot use his real name, he says, because his family is still in Afghanistan, and he worries about both their rejection and what the Taliban would do to them if his identity were known.
At his camp, he didn’t have access to basic needs like food, and there was a lack of resources. “I faced discrimination based on my sexuality. People would not want us LGBTQ near them, and they spoke about us behind our backs. There were 14 other LGBTQ people in the camp, and they were teased a lot too. They remained in their rooms all the time, and would just come out for 10 minutes a day when no one else was outside, so they would not be harassed.”
Ahmad Qais Munhazim, assistant professor of global studies at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, told The Daily Beast that LGBTQ people in Afghanistan were “engulfed by the hopelessness of a dark present and dark future. They have no idea what is going to happen to them.”
Munhazim, an Afghan-born scholar, queer activist, and political scientist, has aided many LGBTQ Afghan refugees, and is also in regular contact with many queer Afghans still living in the country, as well as those in camps still awaiting onward travel to safe countries.
“Having the bare minimum is not a dignified way to live. Those stories are not sent back to LGBTQ people in Afghanistan who are continuously struggling to get out.”
— Ahmad Qais Munhazim
“The so-called success stories of those who left have resulted in those who remain in Afghanistan feeling not worthy enough,” Munhazim said. “It is also important to note that the narrative that those who have left now have flourishing lives is not true. Some are facing other struggles in their new countries, or facing racism and xenophobia in third countries. Some are on the verge of homelessness in their new countries. They do not have enough money to live. Having the bare minimum is not a dignified way to live. Those stories are not sent back to LGBTQ people in Afghanistan who are continuously struggling to get out.”
Bland said Rainbow Railroad was still in the midst of helping many LGBTQ Afghans who want to flee the country. “Processing delays disproportionately impact LGBTQ refugees, who face serious dangers as they await resettlement,” said Bland. Rainbow Railroad is the lead funder of the largest LGBTQ safe house for those escaping Afghanistan, situated in a neighboring country. Over 150 LGBTQ Afghans have already passed through it.
“We helped set it up because people are not safe in the neighboring countries. We want to support people in a specifically LGBTQ-friendly space,” said Bland. “They are still afraid of going outside the grounds in case they are harassed or pursued by law enforcement—especially for trans and non-binary people facing violence and persecution on the streets.”
Bridget Crawford, legal director of Immigration Equality, told The Daily Beast that the organization heard from LGBTQ people in Afghanistan and neighboring countries “constantly begging for help. People who are in hiding. Reports of people who have been hunted by the Taliban. People who have been outed to the Taliban by a family member. People who are in fear of their lives.
“We have had reports of people being sexually assaulted and raped by Taliban members. The situation is dire. A small number who have been lucky have fought hard and suffered a lot and reached safety in a few countries. Yes, there have been success stories, and we are really grateful for the work of the United States government, the State Department, Canada, and other governments. But it’s simply not enough.”
““His family told him, ‘The Taliban came. They shot him in the head. Now they are after you because they saw pictures of you on his phone, and if they don’t kill you, we will.’”
— Bridget Crawford
Crawford told of one group of LGBTQ Afghans in a refugee camp who were harassed and threatened; one was sexually assaulted in the shower. Another was beaten. “And this was a group on the U.S. government’s radar, supported by us. Imagine how dire the situation is for people who don’t have that level of support.” Like Rainbow Railroad, Immigration Equality is calling on governments to help un-block the process, and work more closely with them to get LGBTQ refugees to safety.
“Where I come from, homosexuality is considered a disgrace and my family would have the right to kill me to protect their honor,” a Rainbow Railroad client said. “When I was 15, I was outed to my family. I was beaten by my family, and they trapped me at home. After enrolling at university in Kabul, I met my partner. At the time, I worked on LGBTQI+ advocacy online with a friend. We researched LGBTQI+ issues, and translated and posted information on social media to help others in Afghanistan.
“I was terrified that the Taliban would find out that I am gay and worked on LGBTQI+ advocacy. They would kill me. I managed to escape with help and got to a neighboring country. Rainbow Railroad supported me while I waited to get to Canada – and made my journey possible. Now I feel safe and can be myself without fear.”
One of Crawford’s Afghan clients from a rural area had a gay relationship with a neighbor, conducted in total secret. Over the years his family became suspicious; he did not marry a woman and seemed “different.” The couple was fearful of a cousin affiliated with the Taliban.
After the fall of Afghanistan last year the client fled to the border to get to Pakistan, and bring his boyfriend there. He called his boyfriend, but couldn’t get hold of him. Then he called his family to ask if they knew anything. “His family told him, ‘The Taliban came. They shot him in the head. Now they are after you because they saw pictures of you on his phone, and if they don’t kill you, we will.’” The man fled to Pakistan where he went into hiding before getting arrested. He was told he would be deported back to Afghanistan if he didn’t get out of the country. Now he is in hiding in Iran.” “It is heartbreaking. We must bring people to safety”
“For a long time, I didn’t see any sign of hope of one day leaving the camp I was in, so I was very happy when the time came for me to leave that camp for Canada,” C told the Daily Beast. “I hope to finally be able to live in the United States, but I am just happy not to be in Afghanistan, and not in the camp anymore.”
“I don’t know much about my surroundings, so I am being cautious dealing with people,” said C. “Obviously the culture is different. I am focusing on learning English, gradually adjusting to the environment, and moving forward from there.” His partner of many years is still in Afghanistan and has applied for a Special Immigrant Visa to enter America. “I try my best to be with him,” C told The Daily Beast. “I want to be together with him again.”
Taliban members have been harassing C’s partner, who has taken to constantly moving and changing address to evade them. “He is very desperate to leave. He is missing me too. We talk with each other, and we are trying to find a way to be together again. This is my dream. Life is very difficult without him. My message to anyone who has influence or power is this: LGBTQ people in Afghanistan do not have the chance or hope to live as they want to. Please try to help evacuate them from Afghanistan so they can live a free life.”
Jill Kelley, a former honorary ambassador to U.S. Central Command who helped evacuate hundreds—including C—during the chaotic dash to leave the country when the Taliban took control, said it was “so rewarding” to see him safe. Kelley said the U.S. and other governments needed to “make LGBTQ Afghans and other LGBTQ refugees, a priority. People in danger because of their religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity must be prioritized. I think a lot of people do not think about the special dangers LGBTQ refugees are in. We must not forget them.”
“The story of LGBTQ Afghans does not end with his story, and the small number of other success stories. All governments need to do more to help so many more people.”
— Mark Pfeifle
Mark Pfeifle, deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser for strategic communications and global outreach at the White House from 2007 to 2009, also helped in C’s evacuation. Pfeifle said pressure should be continued to be applied to the State Department and governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to make LGBTQ Afghan refugees a priority.
“Stories like C’s should be an enormous, necessary spotlight,” Pfeifle said. “There are untold numbers of people who are still living in extraordinary danger. It is heartbreaking. We must bring people to safety. I am so glad C can have some kind of future, but the story of LGBTQ Afghans does not end with his story and the small number of other success stories. All governments need to do more to help so many more people.”
“The Taliban do not see LGBTQ people as human. If they come to know them, they would stone or kill them.”
— ‘C’
“The LGBTQ people I know in Afghanistan do not have hope to live as a group of people,” C told The Daily Beast. “The Taliban do not see LGBTQ people as human. If they come to know them, they would stone or kill them. LGBTQ people do not feel they can openly express themselves even to each other because the Taliban could be involved. A friend was in contact with someone who asked him to come to his house. When my friend got there, he was sexually assaulted and harassed by 20 guys for two days. He escaped through the bathroom window.”
Bland said “thousands” of LGBTQ people in Afghanistan have told Rainbow Railroad they stay at home or in shelter 24 hours a day to avoid detection. “Every checkpoint on the streets represents the fear that they may be searched and phones examined. They move locations in case they are pursued or tracked by the Taliban.”
Munhazim said queer and trans people, in fear of the Taliban, were cautious in how they presented themselves in public. “But it is important to say that queer people still exist and find ways to get together and live life. Afghans are very resilient. They find underground spaces to get together, and also virtual spaces where they can express themselves, try to survive, and be there for each other.”
Before the Taliban took over, Munhazim told The Daily Beast, queer and trans Afghans had been collectively finding ways to begin to make their presence felt in public, “pushing society to accept them. Now you can’t see that presence in public spaces. Some of their families expect them to get married and start families. Some may be investigated by the Taliban for being feminine or visibly trans. It’s a very complicated situation, and not black-and-white as some western media paints it.”
Some queer teachers, lawyers, and artists Munhazim had spoken to had hoped they might be able to continue their work or education, but the economic crisis gripping Afghanistan had made this impossible, and now they cannot leave. Others have told Munhazim they want to stay, because they could never leave their families. “Afghans are very familial people, and they would feel guilty if they left them. Some are the breadwinners for their families.”
Talha recalled a childhood of playing with girls, relatives being suspicious of this, and within himself a growing consciousness that he was not only different but also not alone in being different, and “that there many people like me.” At school, he was bullied and harassed; at college, he denied the jibes of others that he must be gay, “because I had to hide to be safe.”
Eventually, Talha found a straight bar in the city he lived in which welcomed a queer clientele. “I was a good dancer and loved dancing.” But some people took video of him dancing, posting it on social media, which again made him scared in case it was seen and he was targeted. He endured more harassment by gangsters and thugs, who would beat him and his friends up when they refused to go with the men or give them their numbers. “One of my friends was kidnapped by gangsters who gang-raped and beat him. We were always very scared of people. The government did not accept us. Being LGBTQ was illegal.”
“I have lost so many friends. One was arrested, beaten, and raped by the Taliban. You walk the streets and worry they will see who you are, pick you up, check your cellphone, maybe arrest you.”
— Talha
When the Taliban took over, they closed the bar and took its cameras and video footage away. “So, they knew about us,” Talha said. “I deleted Facebook and Instagram. I changed my number. I left the city and went to my home city. I am not only LGBTQ but Hazara, who the Taliban punish and target. I was scared to go out. When I did, I wore masks and scarves to hide myself.”
Talha says he has “passed so many difficulties, so many dangers, I have lost so many friends. One was arrested, beaten, and raped by the Taliban. You walk the streets and worry they will see who you are, pick you up, check your cellphone, maybe arrest you. I saw so many explosions, so much violence, people beaten in front of my eyes.”
He tried to get on one of the flights out of Afghanistan last summer. “I slept in front of the airport. I thought if I have a 0.1 percent chance of getting out, I had to try. I had to escape from there. After the Taliban came it was not a place for LGBTQ people. If they know you are LGBTQ they will arrest you and kill you in front of people. My friends are in bad situations. One is depressed, he doesn’t go outside. Most LGBTQ people stay home nowadays. They feel someone could knock on the door and arrest them. One person I know was arrested in front of his family.”
“I left Afghanistan because my life was in danger for being gay,” a Rainbow Railroad client said. “I lived in a small village and people made fun of me because I acted feminine. My brother in Pakistan got a letter from Taliban telling him I am gay. They looked for me, but I was in hiding. When I found out about the letter, I knew I had to escape. I don’t know who I can trust, even in my own family.
“I fled to a neighboring country with my friends, but we still weren’t safe there no matter where we hid. Rainbow Railroad helped me get to Canada and it saved my life. I am safe now and I don’t even want to remember what it was like before.”
One client told Crawford the story of a gay couple in his town whose leaders discovered the men were gay and in a relationship and decided they deserved to die. “One man fled, never to be heard from again. The other had his hands tied, he was thrown into a river and drowned.” Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty
“They feel the world has betrayed them”
Over 60 percent of queer Afghans who have contacted Rainbow Railroad “lack basic necessities, funds and resources for life, food shelter, and clothing,” said Bland. “We hear from people who have been cut off from families, or forced from homes, who have suffered violence and beatings, or who have had their identity documents confiscated including passports to prevent them from escaping the country.”
Rainbow Railroad’s ability to help get LGBTQ Afghans out of the country is being hampered by the refugee and immigration system grinding to an effective halt, and the few opportunities to ensure the passage of refugees to safe countries.
“Our hands are genuinely tied,” said Bland. “We provide financial aid and shelter as much as we are able, but these are patchwork solutions to what is really needed—a coordinated effort by governments and civil society organizations to move the wheels in a meaningful way again, and expedite the processing of LGBTQ refugees safely and quickly. Many LGBTQ Afghans are in dire, desperate situations. Governments must recognize this. We know who needs help, we have the lists. Help us get these people to safety.”
“International communities and some human rights activists think that by helping a few queer and trans refugees they have solved the problem. They haven’t.”
— Ahmad Qais Munhazim
Much help for queer Afghans “abruptly stopped” when the media focus shifted from Afghanistan, and “the Ukrainian crisis took over everything,” said Munhazim. “That has already impacted the mental health of queer and trans people in Afghanistan and the way they see the future and what is going to happen to them. They feel the world has betrayed them.
“International communities and some human rights activists think that by helping a few queer and trans refugees they have solved the problem. They haven’t, just like they didn’t solve it when they were in Afghanistan the previous 20 years. They didn’t bring about any kind of change. The only clinic for trans people was run by Afghans themselves. Now it is closed.”
Talha wants Western political leaders and those with power “for one moment to imagine they are LGBTQ in Afghanistan. You don’t have any rights. It is also your home. There is a high risk of danger. What do you do? I want them to imagine being in this position, and in doing so realize they must help LGBTQ Afghans. They are human. You are human. All humans must be equal. Don’t be quiet. Imagine what it is to be LGBTQ there. If you have any power to do so, help these people.”
Presently, the refugee system’s paralysis is all-encompassing. “Where can queer Afghans go to?” said Munhazim. “I have spoken to some people in Pakistan in a very difficult situation. Their visas and passports are expiring. They are stuck. The system is blocked. It’s like other countries are saying, ‘We’re done. We took the ones we wanted to. That was very humanitarian of us. That’s over now.’
“They should really be thinking of how to support the Afghans still in Afghanistan who may eventually help build a new country. One possible way forward is to employ those queer Afghan refugees who have gotten out, and who are activists, to find ways to help queer Afghans still in the country. They know what they need, and how to get it to them.”
Munhazim said to solve the blockage affecting the safe, onward passage of queer Afghan refugees, Western countries “need to do what they did with Ukrainians, and open borders, and welcome everyone who needs to be somewhere else.”
Munhazim said Islamophobia and racism underpinned why Afghan refugees were being treated differently. He had spoken to queer Afghan refugees in Germany who are watched as if they were potential thieves when they go to the supermarket and who, when they sit down on a bus, note that people move away from them. “Countries need to change people’s perceptions of refugees, particularly Muslim refugees. And give them proper housing. You cannot expect a family living in a hotel room for a year to be mentally and emotionally stable. Trans refugees are having a particularly hard time accessing hormones.”
“When he got out of the trunk of the car to go to the bathroom, the trafficker tried to rape him.”
— Bridget Crawford
Crawford recalled one Immigration Equality client trying to escape to Pakistan, not being able to get a visa, then paying a trafficker to transport him in the trunk of his car across the border. “When he got out of the trunk of the car to go to the bathroom, the trafficker tried to rape him. The client ran off and hid under a car. He was waiting in Pakistan to have his application to get to Canada processed when the police picked him up, and he was deported back to Afghanistan. Now we’re desperately trying to get him out of Afghanistan,” Crawford said. “He does have a pathway forward.”
Another gay Afghan client told Crawford about his boyfriend, who had left the house to buy food and got picked up and raped by a group of men. Crawford had heard many reports of Bacha bāzī—the rape and sexual abuse of young boys by older men. “It happened to many clients who were forced to take part in various practices under threat of death. Some of our other clients are terrified of persecution by families, and some are afraid for their families because they fear their families will be targeted if it is discovered they have a trans or LGBTQ child.
“Some of our clients are bisexual or gay, and were forced into arranged marriages to try and fit in. Some have children and wives, who while they may not have romantic feelings for, are still loyal to as their families.”
“Some queer and trans refugees would love to be evacuated with their families. They really suffer by not being with them. Give them that option.”
— Ahmad Qais Munhazim
Munhazim said that the narrative of all families of queer children being homophobic and transphobic was “an Orientalist assumption and not the reality. Afghans have a very queer cultural history, and families have welcomed queer and trans children in many ways. The presence of the Taliban has made those families more vigilant and cautious, and seeking to exert control over the gender and sexuality of their kids.”
Munhazim said some queer and trans people being evacuated from the country would have loved to have brought their families with them, but were not able to. “The western idea” was to ask if they had a partner to evacuate with, but Munhazim said this should be expanded to include family members (if those queer and trans people would like to be with them), especially as those family members “find themselves in danger after their queer family members have left the country. Also, some queer and trans refugees would love to be evacuated with their families. They really suffer by not being with them. Give them that option.”
Dane Bland of Rainbow Railroad was moved recently to see some refugees attend an LGBTQ event in Canada, “who realized suddenly their LGBTQ identities were not just protected but celebrated.
“However, refugees are not treated fantastically in safer countries,” said Bland. “There is xenophobia. There is not much political capital used in welcoming them. It is incumbent on all of us in Canada and America to be more vocally supportive of newcomers and refugees getting to safety here, so politicians recognize it not as a necessary tick in a box of obligation, but doing what is right for the most amount for people as humanly possible.” Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty “Conveying hope is important—but it’s not enough”
For Crawford, the question for the Biden administration and State Department is clear and blunt: “Why can’t we resettle more queer and trans Afghans here? Some have been, but not in large numbers. They have so much to contribute. We must help them.”
No representative from the U.S. State Department was available for interview. In a statement addressing a number of issues raised in this report, a State Department spokesperson told The Daily Beast the department remained dedicated to protecting vulnerable populations, and recognized “the unique challenges and threats members of the LGBTQI+ community face within Afghanistan. The United States has consulted with Afghan civil society organizations, and LGBTQI+ Afghans, international NGOs, and human rights defenders for many years to address these vulnerabilities. The United States continues to advocate for respect for the human rights of all Afghans, including for members of the LGBTQI+ community.”
The statement said the State Department continued “to identify ways to support Afghans at risk, including women, children, persons with disabilities, members of the LGBTQI+ community, members of minority groups, and journalists. This effort is of the utmost importance to the U.S. government.”
“We call on the Taliban to allow freedom of movement for all Afghans, and strongly encourage Afghanistan’s neighbors and other countries to allow entry for Afghans seeking protection.”
— State Department spokesperson
The statement added that the State Department recognized how hard it was for many to leave Afghanistan, and with other agencies continued “to discuss and troubleshoot issues that arise with groups and individual cases throughout the process of relocation. We are exploring opportunities for increased access to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Process (USRAP) for LGBTQI+ persons to ensure that LGBTQI+ refugees around the world have access to resettlement as a durable solution.”
In the now-urgent present, with many pathways to safety currently closed or blocked, NGOs and civil society organizations are scrambling to do what they can to help refugees in immediate need. Activists insist the system needs a massive, immediate overhaul to help refugees most in need.
“We always try to convey a message of hope and solidarity,” said Crawford of Immigration Equality. “Years ago, I had a client who had been rejected by his family. They had discovered him being intimate with someone when he was 13. His father first tried to drown him. Then his family stopped speaking with him and made him eat with the dogs. He ran away, and preparing his application to get to Canada, asked, ‘When I get to Canada, can they find me a family?’ It was just gut-wrenching.”
Crawford told the man about organizations like PFLAG, and how there were people and allies in America and Canada who supported and celebrated LGBTQ people. “It was a heartbreaking conversation. At the same time, it gave him a lot of hope that there were people out there who cared and were in solidarity with him. Conveying hope is important—but it’s not enough.”
“I hope the Taliban breaks apart, and new people come to govern the country. One day I would like to be in my own country again.”
— Talha
C is looking forward to exploring the LGBTQ scene in the Canadian city he is now living in, but feels he cannot fully express himself as he still lives around other homophobic Afghans. A woman he knows, who helped him enroll in an English course, has also given him information about a forthcoming LGBTQ event he hopes to attend. He wants to continue his education.
Talha has been to his first gay bars, amazed at seeing people able to wear what they want. “I compare this to my own country. Why is there a difference in Afghanistan? Why can’t we as LGBTQ people be accepted like here? I did not cry, but it was an emotional moment to see this, and think about this.”
Talha hopes he can build a career in hairdressing and beauty, then with his income help support his LGBTQ friends in Afghanistan. “I hope my own country one day gets better,” Talha told The Daily Beast. “I hope the people accept LGBTQ people. I hope the Taliban breaks apart, and new people come to govern the country. One day I would like to be in my own country again. After hundreds of years, what a good feeling that would be.”
LGBT+ Afghans call on UK to save them from Taliban violence in Pakistan protest
Lottie Kilraine and Edd Dracott, PA
·
A transgender Afghan has called on the UK Government to offer asylum to members of the LGBT+ community in her country after a year of oppression, rape and violence under the Taliban’s rule.
Ozlam, who asked to be referred to by that name, is the leader of a group of Afghan refugees protesting in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, on Thursday to urge the UK to grant asylum to more than 1,000 LGBT+ Afghans attempting to flee Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Accompanied by the online #LetUsLive campaign, the protest comes weeks after 24-year-old Ozlam was attacked in her home in Kabul by Taliban fighters, in a raid she said claimed the life of one of her four LGBT+ housemates.
Ozlam told the PA news agency her friend was kidnapped, raped and then found hanging from a tree in a park the day after the attack in the Afghan capital.
“Life before the Taliban was already not very good for us but when the Taliban took control, the LGBT+ community began facing problems on a daily basis,” Ozlam said, speaking to PA through a translator.
“People have been harassed, they have been raped, and they have been killed – these are the issues people are facing.
“There are many other transgender Afghans who have been kidnapped and even now we don’t know whether they are still alive.”
LGBT+ Afghans have faced a year of oppression under Taliban rule (Roshaniya/PA)
Organised by Ozlam and humanitarian group Roshaniya, the Islamabad demonstration was initially planned to take place outside the British embassy but pressure from Pakistani police meant it had to be relocated to Lake View Park in the city centre – where a small group gathered with placards, some of them addressed to the UK’s Foreign Office (FCDO).
“Dear FCDO: We do not want your mind games of vanity,” read one sign.
Before the Taliban seized control of Kabul on August 15 2021, Ozlam had been living with her fiancee, but now lives in Islamabad after recently fleeing Afghanistan and working to encourage other LGBT+ Afghans to fight for their right to live freely.
Roshaniya claimed that within two years or less, the entire community of LGBT+ Afghans will disappear as a result of executions and torture inflicted by the Taliban.
“We want to raise our voice for all the people in the LGBT+ community who are still struggling in Afghanistan,” Ozlam said.
“We are a part of this society and we want to have the right to live our lives the way we want to.”
The demonstration in Pakistan had to be relocated to a park in the city centre from outside the British embassy (Roshaniya/PA)
Roshaniya said it is aware of more than 1,000 LGBT+ Afghans and 20 LGBT+ advocates who remain stuck in Afghanistan or left in limbo in Iran, Pakistan and Turkey.
The group is calling on the UK to grant asylum to at least 100-200 of those refugees, but claims the UK Government has repeatedly rejected their calls to help those on their evacuation list.
“We just want to appeal to the world, and especially the UK, to please help us,” she said.
Monday marks a year since the Taliban captured Kabul as US and Nato forces withdrew from Afghanistan, ending a nearly 20-year war against the Taliban’s insurgency.
Western governments have refused to recognise the Taliban’s rule, demanding respect for human rights and tolerance for other groups.
A UK Government spokesman said: “The UK is a fierce champion of freedom and the right of all people to be themselves and love who they want free from persecution.
“We will continue to help evacuate LGBT+ people from Afghanistan and do all we can to help at-risk Afghans leave the country.”
