Column: Taliban's return means ath for gay Afghans. Bin, will you help? - Los Angel Tim

Contents:

• AFGHANISTAN: GAY MAN KABUL 'RAPED AND BEATEN' BY TALIBAN AFTER BEG TRICKED TO MEETG
• GAY AFGHANISTAN, AFTER THE TALIBAN. HOMOSEXUALY AS TRADN
• THE TALIBAN RAPED AND BEAT A GAY MAN KABUL AFTER TRICKG HIM TO A MEETG WH A PROMISE OF PE OM AFGHANISTAN, SAYS REPORT
• GAY AFGHANISTAN: HOMOEROTICISM AMONG KABUL'S WARRRS
• TALIBAN SHOT GAY AFGHAN MAN AD AND SENT GRAPHIC FOOTAGE OF THE MURR TO HIS LOVED ON, BOYIEND SAYS
• MEN OM AFGHANISTAN'S SECRET GAY MUNY SAY THEY ARE LIVG THROUGH A 'NIGHTMARE' AND FEAR THAT THE TALIBAN WILL EXECUTE THEM AT ANY MOMENT
• ‘JT LIKE THE NAZIS’: GAY AFGHANS FACE ‘EXTERMATN’ UNR TALIBAN
• GAY MEN AFGHANISTAN SAY LIFE UNR TALIBAN 'NIGHTMARE,' ULD BE KILLED ON THE SPOT
• ‘A VIRTUAL ATH SENTENCE’: GAY AFGHANS BRACE FOR UNCERTA FUTURE UNR TALIBAN
• TALIBAN-NTROLLED AFGHANISTAN WILL ‘CSH GAY MEN TO ATH WH 10FT WALLS’, WARNS JUDGE
• TALIBAN WILL ‘WEED OUT AND EXTERMATE’ LGBT+ PEOPLE AFGHANISTAN, WARNS EXILED GAY THOR

AFGHANISTAN: GAY MAN KABUL 'RAPED AND BEATEN' BY TALIBAN AFTER BEG TRICKED TO MEETG

If he'd spoken about his sexualy to the wrong person then, Abdul uld have been arrted and taken to urt for his sexualy, unr Afghan sce the Taliban seized ntrol of major ci Afghanistan last week, Abdul tells Rad 1 Newsbeat his sexualy beg revealed would now have him "killed on the spot" Taliban are a ary group who have taken ntrol of the untry, and are known to enforce extreme Islamic the Taliban's terpretatn of Sharia Law, homosexualy is strictly prohibed and punishable by last time they were power Afghanistan, between the late 90s and 2001, 21-year-old Abdul hadn't been born.

(New York) – Lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) Afghans and people who do not nform to rigid genr norms Afghanistan have faced an creasgly sperate suatn and grave threats to their safety and liv unr the Taliban, Human Rights Watch and OutRight Actn Internatnal said a report released today.

GAY AFGHANISTAN, AFTER THE TALIBAN. HOMOSEXUALY AS TRADN

A Taliban judge told the German tabloid Bild shortly before the fall of Kabul, “For homosexuals, there n only be two punishments: eher stong, or he mt stand behd a wall that will fall down on him.

” A manual issued by the Taliban Mistry of Vice and Virtue 2020 stat that relig lears shall prohib same-sex relatns and that “strong allegatns” of homosexualy shall be referred to the mistry’s district manager for adjuditn and punishment. A gay man said that Taliban members taed him at a checkpot, beat him, and gang-raped him, tellg him, “From now on anytime we want to be able to fd you, we will. Report by ITV News digal journalist Jocelyn Evans"Two people raped him, they beat him, and then mand his father's number so they uld tell him his son was gay.

THE TALIBAN RAPED AND BEAT A GAY MAN KABUL AFTER TRICKG HIM TO A MEETG WH A PROMISE OF PE OM AFGHANISTAN, SAYS REPORT

"In Taliban-ntrolled Afghanistan, this is the realy for LGBT+ people livg the victim, we'll ll Hanan to protect his inty, had been talkg to a man on social media for three weeks before agreeg to meet, a gay man terrified sce the Taliban took ntrol of the untry, had been promised a safe way out of the was ceived - two members of the Taliban met him and rried out their btal survived but is livg silence, shock, and shame unr a regime tent on not jt nyg, but extguishg the existence of him and we who are like him. Two more siar stori about the recurrence of Pashtun homosexualy, om the New York Tim (Febary 2002) and Tim of London (January 2002), n be found the Afghanistan News & Reports 2002-04. From the wtern shor of ancient Moroc across thoands of sandy Islamic to the far eastern islands of Indonia, almost half the distance of our known world, homosexual behavr is pronounced anathema to the fahful.

But simple and superst scrib of the fahs have wrten reams of florid, passnate and volnic vers that embrace an artificial dichotomy of homo-and-hetero sexual and emotnal orientatn. Bis s natural occurrence our gen and nrons, another reason homosexual behavr and sire has not been stamped out by every nceivable type of secular cure and sacred persecutn is that homosexualy serv both relign and culture well. It is perhaps one of the great anthropologil paradox (if not hypocrisi) that the history and behavr of homosexualy has been rried down through fifteen centuri by genr-segregated Mlim cultur and, as well, by male Christian monastic nferatns.

A thoughtful rear who engag cross-cultural studi will not get far before they disver what many wtern lbigay people already know about the digeno and hidn homosexual tradn practiced, lol varieti, by untls unmarried and married men Arab/Mlim untri. (6) The great Mlim emphasis on fay life renrs homosexualy far ls threateng to Mlim societi than to Wtern on (Mlim men seekg formally to marry each other remas unimagable). In most morn Islamic ‘cultural’ (premaral) homosexual behavr there is a mute unrstandg that sex is mutually nsensual, temporary and that ’s a form of pannship, if not affectn, among peers.

GAY AFGHANISTAN: HOMOEROTICISM AMONG KABUL'S WARRRS

Whether the activy is mutual or forceful, there is an almost universal attu the eastern cultur that such sexual dulgence is not ‘gay’, that is, ’s not sex or love between two men who intify as homosexuals. ) Rather, a llective mental shell game the meang of sex is re-amed: heterosexual men engage homosexual behavr which the younger guy is not a ‘fem’ but obedient and passive and the olr one is not a ‘butch queer’ but assertive and active. It stirs up, aga, trigug issu of homosexual inty vs homosexual behavr: do behavr fe inty or is inty separate om behavr–and how do behavr and inty terface wh sexual orientatn…?

And perhaps bee the ethnic Phtuns who domate Kandahar are the most religly nservative of Afghanistan’s major ethnic groups, they have, by most acunts, a higher cince of homosexual relatns. ” Followg the mullah’s math, this suggts that between 18% and 45% of men here engage homosexual sex–signifintly higher than the 3% to 7% of Amerin men who, acrdg to studi, intify themselv as homosexual.

It’s not only relig thori who scribe homosexual sex as mon among the Mohammed Nasem Zafar, a profsor at Kandahar Medil College, timat that about 50% of the cy’s male rints have sex wh men or boys at some pot their liv.

TALIBAN SHOT GAY AFGHAN MAN AD AND SENT GRAPHIC FOOTAGE OF THE MURR TO HIS LOVED ON, BOYIEND SAYS

Richardson, the psychiatry profsor, says would be wrong to ll Afghan men homosexual, sce their cisn to have sex wh men is not a reflectn of what Wterners ll genr inty.

MEN OM AFGHANISTAN'S SECRET GAY MUNY SAY THEY ARE LIVG THROUGH A 'NIGHTMARE' AND FEAR THAT THE TALIBAN WILL EXECUTE THEM AT ANY MOMENT

Homosexualy is not unrstood as anythg natural or acceptable and the ia of mutual same-sex pleasure or romance is alien to the vast majory who have never enuntered such ias. For some of the married-wh-kids men, ’s also possible that some of them are really gay and this tradnal nqut of younger guys serv their secret very well.

But even here the gay man ns a risk sce the younger man is probably heterosexual and knows (after parg not wh his own peers) the rol and lims expected of both of them. 22 will disntue executns of people charged wh sodomy and will likely adopt a more tolerant policy on human rights for gays, acrdg to a spokperson for the Northern Alliance, the Afghan ary factn that fought agast the Taliban. Am said he uld not predict how the new terim ernment would addrs specific human rights issu, such as anti-gay persecutn, but said he was certa the ernment-sponsored ab of women and mori unr the Taliban ernment would be disntued.

Bmberg said that while Afghanistan’s nservative, Islamic tradns would make unlikely that Karzai would openly embrace gay rights, he said the changg ndns brought about by the oter of the Taliban will enable Karzai to at least put an end to dranian practice such as summary executns of gays. Sce the Uned Stat began s war agast terrorism late September, gay rights advot have exprsed ncern that many of the Arab and Islamic untri that signed on as aln partners the war routely treat gays as crimals.

‘JT LIKE THE NAZIS’: GAY AFGHANS FACE ‘EXTERMATN’ UNR TALIBAN

Gay rights anizatns, cludg the Internatnal Lbian & Gay Human Rights Commissn, said they regnize the need for the Uned Stat to align self wh Islamic and Arab natns the war agast terrorism. But they said the Uned Stat and other Wtern alli should e their relatnship wh Arab and Islamic untri to persua those ernments to improve ndns for gays. Hodgett said that while the Bonn agreement is silent on the qutn of anti-gay persecutn, he is hopeful that the agreement’s ll for the tablishment of an pennt judiciary and the creatn of a pluralistic mocracy would lay the groundwork for curtailg persecutn of mori, cludg gays.

GAY MEN AFGHANISTAN SAY LIFE UNR TALIBAN 'NIGHTMARE,' ULD BE KILLED ON THE SPOT

Gay Mlims hopeful Faisal Alam, founr of the gay Islamic group Al Fatiha (), said his group is monorg the latt velopments Afghanistan and is utly optimistic that the climate for gays there will improve, at least somewhat. ” Alam said that while groups have formed over the years reprentg gays a number of Islamic untri, he is unaware of the existence of any gay Afghan group.

The lack of such an anizatn, and the lack of any visible prence of a gay muny Afghanistan, means that those who favor improvements the treatment of gays Afghanistan mt direct their attentn “to our own ernments, ” Alam said. Alam and Michael Hefl, director of Out Front, an Amnty Internatnal project that monors anti-gay persecutn, said RAWA’s strong human rights posns and s outspoken efforts to end discrimatn agast women Afghanistan make the group a potential ally for Afghan gays. To ll for trials or vtigatns of past human rights vlatns, cludg the persecutn of gays, “will open a n of worms for the new people g to power, ” Bmberg said, bee many of them have been volved such vlatns.

Two more siar stori about the recurrence of Pashtun homosexualy, om the New York Tim (Febary 2002) and Tim of London (January 2002), n be found the Afghanistan News & Reports 2002-04 this se. The Taliban raped and beat a gay man after dupg him to meetg them, a report om ITV outlet said that Hanan, a psdonym given to protect his inty, had been speakg to a man on social media who promised to help him fd a safe way out of LGBTQ people have been sperately tryg to flee the untry followg the Taliban agreed to meet the man Kabul after speakg for three weeks onle, who unbeknownst to him were actually Taliban men. In July, German newspaper Bild reported that a Taliban judge vowed to sentence gay men to ath by stong or beg cshed by a ne-foot activists told Insir that gay men would be lured to their aths through social media even durg the prev ernments.

‘A VIRTUAL ATH SENTENCE’: GAY AFGHANS BRACE FOR UNCERTA FUTURE UNR TALIBAN

This was unr Ashraf Ghani and Hamid Karzai, " he Zaher, an Afghan thor and gay rights activist, told Insir that gay people would often vanish after meetg up wh men they met on social media, who turned out to be ernment officials warned that the Taliban were likely to e the same tactics. Details magaze discsed the homosocial standards of much of Islamic culture, based on separatn of the genrs, and reviewed Trolley Prs’ 2003 book “Taliban, ” which photographer Thomas Dworzak prented imag of effemate Taliban warrrs that he unearthed. ” I wanted to go to Kandahar bee s homosexual reputatn seemed most pronounced, and Mohammed’s stori about the cy volved relatnships between grown men, rather than a man wh a youth, as seemed more mon elsewhere.

At the pool, when I qutned the swimmers through my translator about the Taliban’s notns about body image, several ma a joke of the qutn, claimg that the old regime was ma up of gay men––Kandahar “playboys” as they lled them––who loved to see naked, even as Afghan men joked about the Taliban beg gay, they did not seem terribly put off by the subject of homosexualy. He played wh the mcl on my arms, parg them to his own, his other hand bbg his was when the 20-year-old man simply blurted out, “Munir said you like to do homosexual thgs.

TALIBAN-NTROLLED AFGHANISTAN WILL ‘CSH GAY MEN TO ATH WH 10FT WALLS’, WARNS JUDGE

A gay Afghan man was kidnapped and shot to ath by the Taliban, acrdg to activists who knew him, Pk News was the first to Sabouri of Kabul, Afghanistan, died on Augt 5, activists said. "Sadat said Sabouri, who had wanted to be a doctor, had "endured discrimatn his whole life for beg gay and his life me to an abpt end wh no one there to help him. Bahar scribed his former boyiend as a "very kd boy" who was "btally killed" bee of his said he thought Sabouri was jokg when he told him July that the Taliban was targetg him and was " danger" for beg gay.

Adam* said was dangero to e out as gay his home untry and feared beg forced to an arranged marriage wh a said he was "so lucky" to wed his soulmate, Ray, Manchter and wish everyone uld marry who they love. There are more than 60 untri wh laws that crimalise same-sex sexual acts acrdg to the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn, cludg Sdi Arabia.

'Authentilly myself'Ray said he had also stggled growg up gay the 1970s and 80s England, which was "tough" said his relig school "dmmed to you, 'you are gog to hell'" Adam returned home to Sdi Arabia, spe beg more than 3, 000 apart and later rtricted by the Covid-19 panmic, they kept touch daily and the romance years ago, Ray proposed on a vio ll and after succsfully applyg for a UK fiancé visa, Adam moved to Manchter December 2022. Adam said he had been aaid to even wear lours his home untry so the first thg he did when he moved was start to "grow my mullet, got my ears pierced and booked appotments for tattoos" relled how, ntrast, one of his gay iends Sdi had been forced to marry a woman, addg: "It has ed not only his life but the life of his wife. The uple, who live London, said a "really betiful memory" was on the way home when one of their sons shouted out of the black b wdow to Trafalgar Square, "My dads jt got married" and cheered "Yay, gay marriage".

TALIBAN WILL ‘WEED OUT AND EXTERMATE’ LGBT+ PEOPLE AFGHANISTAN, WARNS EXILED GAY THOR

"I jt hope that somebody and wak me up om this bad dream, " the 37-year-old gay Afghan told Insir durg a phone, who works for the Uned Natns, once enjoyed Afghanistan's vibrant "unrground" gay scene. Even though homosexualy was illegal, he said he felt relatively safe makg his weekly vis to a clanste karaoke bar Kabul to sg and dance wh other members of the untry's hidn LGBTQ muni. "If we get ught, the Taliban will kill , " he told Insir durg a phone Taliban is expected to implement a strgent terpretatn of Sharia law, which means homosexualy would be punishable by ath.

In July, German newspaper Bild reported that a judge om the radil Islamist group vowed to sentence gay men to ath by stong or by beg cshed by a ne-foot is so terrified of beg intified as gay and put to ath, that he has not left his home sce the Taliban took over. "If I had permissn to get a visa to go to another untry, I would not stay here for another send, " he more: Surreal vios appear to show armed Taliban fighters ridg bumper rs and a merry-go-round followg their takeover of AfghanistanSayed*, a 36-year-old gay man om northern Afghanistan's Balkh provce, told Insir via Facebook Msenger that he is also sperately seekg asylum om the new hardle Islamist, he said, has dramatilly changed for the worse the space of a week.