Gay Afghan hidg om the Taliban: The WhatsApp msag show his terror | CNN

Contents:

• 'FAKE LIFE': BEG GAY IN AFGHANISTAN
• GAY AFGHANISTAN: HOMOEROTICISM AMONG KABUL'S WARRRS
• A LIFE HIDG: KABUL’S GAY MUNY DRIVEN UNRGROUND
• THE TALIBAN RAPED AND BEAT A GAY MAN KABUL AFTER TRICKG HIM TO A MEETG WH A PROMISE OF PE OM AFGHANISTAN, SAYS REPORT
• 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

'FAKE LIFE': BEG GAY IN AFGHANISTAN

Now Balkhi says that rare acceptance has put all their liv at risk, as the new Taliban learship Kabul unleash a wave of physil vlence and fear on Afghanistan’s gay, lbian and transgenr populatn. No official statement has been ma, but an terview wh Germany’s Bild newspaper July, one Taliban judge said there were only two punishments for homosexualy – stong or beg cshed unr a wall.

Balkhi said one gay man her neighborhood had been raped after beg found by the Taliban. “Homosexualy was wily seen as taboo and cent, ” the report said. Nemat Sadat, an LGBTQ Afghan thor who liv the Uned Stat, said the untry’s gay, lbian and transgenr cizens had helped the untry’s cultural life flourish the 20 years sce the Taliban’s last le.

LGBTQ people who spoke to CNN said while very few felt fortable or safe enough to be openly gay, lbian or transgenr before the takeover, many were able to quietly build liv te to their inti. Hilal, a 25-year-old gay man, said he ed to have a boyiend and had even worked openly to advote for LGBTQ rights Afghanistan. Unr the Taliban’s terpretatn of Sharia law, homosexualy n be punished by ath.

GAY AFGHANISTAN: HOMOEROTICISM AMONG KABUL'S WARRRS

One gay man who has been touch wh Sadat, the US-based LGBTQ advote, said he told him he watched om his hidg place the ceilg as Taliban fighters beat the iend who had refed to divulge his lotn. Another gay man CNN is llg Hasan said he had been hidg a iend’s hoe Kabul for more than a month and was nng out of food and money.

Hilal, the LGBTQ activist, said he was fur at the US ernment and other Wtern untri who he felt had abandoned him and other gay, lbian and transgenr Afghans. And, a 25-year-old genr non-nformg gay person said they had tried to appear more mascule, but a Taliban fighter beat them wh a plastic pipe when they were seen walkg a street. Image source, Getty ImagBefore the Taliban uprisg Afghanistan, life for gay man Abdul (his name has been changed) was already dangero.

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. He says: "As a gay person Afghanistan, you nnot reveal yourself, even to your fay or your iends. "I want a future that I n live eely, and not be poted out by people sayg you n't be gay here.

A LIFE HIDG: KABUL’S GAY MUNY DRIVEN UNRGROUND

"Even if the Taliban accepts a woman the ernment, school, they will never accept gay or LGBT people. He is gay, a nvert to Christiany and a member of the Hazara ethnic mory – three groups that have been historilly persecuted by the Taliban.

Ahmed felt he’d be safer as a gay man the sprawlg Afghan pal. In public statements July, one Taliban judge said there were only two punishments for homosexualy – stong or beg cshed unr a toppled wall.

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

“He was threateng to jump off a buildg bee he thought would be a ls paful way to die than gettg ught and behead by the Taliban as a gay man.

“The Taliban is well known to have executed many LGBTQ people when was power and there have been reports of gay men beg murred sce took over Augt this year, ” said Aws Jubair, director of the Aman Project, a Turkey-based group that advot for the LGBTQ muny the Middle East. LONDON (Thomson Rters Foundatn) - Gay men Kabul say they fear for their liv unr Taliban le, as they hi at home, holdg out hope of a Wtern evacuatn before Islamists rry out a threat to punish LGBT+ Afghans wh Taliban says Afghans have nothg to fear, but reports of the group stong gay men to ath when last power and of judicial support for a return now to pal punishment have left some LGBT+ people werg doors.

’” a 21-year-old stunt, whose name is beg whheld to protect his inty, said by phone om Taliban swept to Kabul on Sunday, pletg a rapid ary takeover of the untry after the Amerins began whdrawg before the takeover, gay men said had been too dangero to live openly Afghanistan, whatever chang had been won over the past 20 the Taliban’s victory has raised fears of a return to btaly if strict sharia law is imposed and ternatnal attentn fas. ”Frantic crowds have thronged Kabul’s airport sperate to board maly Wtern evacuatn plan, wh LGBT+ Afghans among those who say they feel most at risk om Taliban and lbian sex is illegal unr Afghanistan’s 2017 penal and the ath penalty is technilly allowed unr sharia law by the nstutn, but has not been enforced sce 2001, acrdg to LGBT+ advocy group the Taliban’s first regime, om 1996 to 2001, there were reports that men acced of havg gay sex were sentenced to ath and cshed by walls phed over by tanks. A Taliban judge has said that gay sex should be met wh a ath sentence of stong or a toppled wall, acrdg to an terview published last month by German newspaper ‘Bild’.

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

But the 18-year-old is hidg a dangero secret that uld get him imprisoned or killed: He is homosexual.

Homosexualy is a taboo topic Afghanistan, a socially and religly nservative untry. Many nsir homosexualy un-Islamic and immoral, and gay men n be imprisoned by the state or killed by their fay members so-lled honor killgs. "Homosexualy is seen as a disease Afghanistan, " Ahmad, who do not reveal his real name bee he fears for his safety, tells RFE/RL.

"It is seen as a s Islam, and many people thk homosexuals should be executed.

"I realized I was gay when I was around 15 years old, " Ahmad says a phone terview.

The gay muny Afghanistan liv secret and s members often lead double liv -- heterosexuals public and homosexuals private. No official punishment has been meted out for homosexualy sce 2001, acrdg to Human Rights Watch (HRW). But Afghan law is vague on homosexualy, which is not outlawed but may be punished on a lol level by unofficial Shari'a urts or mishandled as any of a number of distctly different crim.

In a report issued Febary, HRW said gay men "risk arrt, prosecutn, and vlence om their fai, the larger muny, and the ernment.

"If my fay found out [I'm gay], I would be kicked out om home and disowned, " Ahmad says. Ahmad says gay men meet each other shoppg centers, parks, and gyms. "I know that homosexualy is agast Islam, but I'm always askg myself, 'Why would God make me and others like this?

Dpe the overwhelmg public stance agast , homosexualy exists Afghan society -- and some forms is even wispread. Nemat Sadat, an Afghan-Amerin gay-rights mpaigner livg Washgton, is workg to change attus toward homosexualy Afghanistan.