With the progressive nature of the human race, we, as a community have somewhat started accepting the LGBTQ+ community. In various countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, almost complete legal acceptance has been achieved and countries like India are slowly and steadily treading on the same path.
However in the world, there are still various countries like Afghanistan where the LGBTQ+ community and same gender sexual preferences are considered an unforgivable offence. Under previous government rules in Afghanistan, having a preference for the same gender was not accepted and if caught it would lead to life imprisonment for everyone involved. If families found out about their son being gay, the family themselves would persecute their child. With the Taliban takeover however, this just gets worse. Now being a part of the LGBTQ+ community is considered against the Sharia law and means direct death; to an extent where even online the members of the community need to erase of all evidence. The Taliban is trying its best to find members of the community and kill them, they are the main target, thus making life a living hell for the Afghani LGBTQ+ community. Even earlier being accepted for their sexuality was not an option for the Afghans, and even now the little scope they had is completely lost.
The Taliban has not yet said anything about the LGBTQ+ community in particular, like how they spoke about women rights under religious boundaries, however various cases have already surfaced.
After the Taliban rule, a gay man had texted his partner through Facebook, which had already been tapped by the Taliban, he asked for him and his partner to flee away as soon as they can, they decided on a place to meet, on his arrival to the decided spot, he found 3-4 members of the Taliban waiting for him, the brutally tortured raped and killed him. His only mistake was that he was attracted to the same gender.
Various such examples have surfaced, but personally, I fail to understand why the LGBTQ+ community is subject to such hate, what gender one is attracted to, is not chosen by them, it is how they are born and it is not something that should change. One does not choose who they love, and just because something does not fit in the conventional ideas does not mean that it is wrong, why is it subject to such horror and suffering? In todays world everyone has the right to live, irrespective of their race, colour, gender or sexual preference, and we need to understand and accept this. Having said this, progress is taking place, and as responsible global citizens who empathise with others, we can help the LGBTQ community in Afghanistan, various fundraisers have been set up by not only individuals but even global NGOs.
We need to understand that the situation is bad, and we must do whatever we can to help our fellow humans in Afghanistan.