What happens to queers who have to fear for their lives in Afghanistan?

A few weeks ago, the Taliban took power in the country of Afghanistan. Even then, many people were asking themselves how things would continue for the people on the ground. Especially those who do not fit into the Taliban's worldview are currently afraid.
In the meantime, more and more voices are being raised demanding that the queers in the country be helped. Many organizations are calling on Germany to take in members of the community in Germany. But how will the government react to this? Can projects like these be implemented without further ado?

Queer people in Afghanistan fear for their lives

Queers in Afghanistan - many organizations take a stand

The demands are clear: In the meantime, many organizations that advocate for the rights of queers and their protection are calling on the government to take action.
They want queers who are persecuted in Afghanistan to find a new home in Germany. Among others, the Lesbian and Gay Association, the CSD Bremen and the Gay Counseling Berlin are among the associations participating in the corresponding petition.

The petition in detail

The petition, which calls for queers to be flown out of Afghanistan and offered a new home in Germany, emphasizes, among other things, that torture and death sentences are one of the reasons why queers fear for their lives in Afghanistan.
In addition, the associations emphasize that the new rulers in the country would specifically look for members of the community in order to arrest or kill them. How the contact persons Annalena Baerbock(Greens) and Nancy Faeser(SPD) will react to this remains to be seen.
However, the scope of the problem is made clear above all by the fact that it is not only people in Afghanistan who are threatened, but also those in neighboring countries. It almost seems, however, as if the very seizure of power by the Taliban has acted as a kind of magnifying glass on the problems that are prevalent in the region. There are many queers here who feel absolutely no security in their everyday lives and live out their sexual orientation in secret(if this is possible).
Fleeing to one of the neighboring countries would be pointless insofar as queers are persecuted there as well.

How vulnerable are queers in Afghanistan?

Many people who fight every day for at least a few people to be rescued from the country and to be saved from the clutches of the Taliban are angry. Because: Although numerous people have already been flown out, the percentage of queers who can start a new life in Germany, for example, is small.
It almost seems as if - due to the reduced reporting - "normality" would prevail again in Afghanistan. But: the opposite is the case. Especially for queer people it means every day anew to have to fear for their lives.
The good news is that thousands of people from Afghanistan - including Germany - will probably be taken in over the coming months. The question that arises in this context, however: How many queers will be among them? The answer depends on how endangered this group of people is considered to be by the political decision makers. And it is precisely about this that different assessments currently(still?) seem to prevail.

 

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