LGBTQ people desperately try to escape Afghanistan as Taliban reinstates sharia law
A Taliban spokesman has dispelled any notion that Afghanistan will remain a democracy, saying the country will likely be governed by a ruling council similar to the last time they held power, reports LGBTQ Nation.
“There will be no democratic system at all because it does not have any base in our country,” Waheedullah Hashimi told Reuters. “We will not discuss what type of political system should we apply in Afghanistan because it is clear. It is sharia law and that is it.”
Gay people, a Taliban judge promised earlier this year, will be prosecuted and executed by stoning or pushing a wall on top of them.
“For homosexuals,” judge Gul Rahim said, “there can only be two punishments: either stoning, or he must stand behind a wall that will fall down on him. The wall must be 2.5 to 3 meters high (8 to 10 feet).”
The Rainbow Railroad is doing what it can to help LGBT+ Afghans flee the country. The non-governmental organization provides aid and asylum to LGBT+ people around the world. Since its founding it’s helped more than 1,600 LGBT+ people find safety, including many victims of Chechnya’s “gay purge.”
For more info visit www.rainbowrailroad.org.
