LGBTQ+ Afghans risk safety by protesting U.S. government & publications that “left us behind”

A group of LGBTQ+ activists in the Afghanistan capital of Kabul held a virtual, in-house protest criticizing the U.S. government and U.S. publications for abandoning them to a life of persecution and death under the Islamic extremist Taliban government.

The protest, whose photos were disseminated via social media, showed people holding banners with critical messages.

“We are exhausted by the US recklessness! TRUMP orchestrated the Taliban deal. BIDEN withdrew and left us behind. Stop punishing us,” one banner read. “We can not live here! There is no love in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan,” another sign read. “We want to live, not fight to stay alive!” read another.

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One of the protesters, a former senior state security worker named Qadam, said they wanted western governments to assist and accept more LGBTQ+ Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban’s persecution, something that has worsened since the group re-took control of the country following the August 2021 withdrawal of U.S. military forces from the region.

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Don’t put alone Afghan LGBT community we need to help to reach our freedom #LetUsLive #TheseAreMyLastWords #WeAreAfghanLGBTQ #LetUsLive #TheseAreMyLastWords #WeAreAfghanLGBTQ #LetUsLive #TheseAreMyLastWords #WeAreAfghanLGBTQ #LetUsLive #LetUsLive #TheseAreMyLastWords #LetUsLive pic.twitter.com/v9cM9LorPP

— Elham sawiz (@ElhamSawiz) February 2, 2023

We can not be free and alive because Taliban never put us to continue our normal live #LetUsLive #TheseAreMyLastWords #WeAreAfghanLGBTQ #LetUsLive #TheseAreMyLastWords #WeAreAfghanLGBTQ #LetUsLive #TheseAreMyLastWords #WeAreAfghanLGBTQ #LetUsLive #TheseAreMyLastWords #LetUsLive pic.twitter.com/dvqj0jCfET

— Heram Mashal (@HeramMashal) February 2, 2023

We never get tired, nor do we stop fighting. We will not rest until we get our rights.#LetUsLive #TheseAreMyLastWords #WeAreAfghanLGBTQ#LetUsLive #TheseAreMyLastWords #WeAreAfghanLGBTQ@nematsadat @RoshaniyaLGBT @BeheshtLGBT pic.twitter.com/tBsui1qIYC

— Baran Afghan (@Baran_786) February 2, 2023

Two other signs said that three U.S. publications — The Daily Beast, The Washington Blade, and The New York Times — “betray” and suppress the voices of queer Afghans by not including the voices of the protest’s organizing groups and that of Nemat Sadat.

Sadat is a human rights journalist and Afghani ex-patriate who fled the country after local Islamic clerics declared lethal fatwas against him following his public coming out as gay. He has compared the Taliban to Nazis.

“The Daily Beast and Washington Blade continue to shun Nemat Sadat and activists from Behesht Collective and Roshaniya in their coverage of LGBT+ people in Afghanistan,” a tweet published by both groups read. “Let’s hope they start interviewing the voices who are authentic to the movement!”

Photos of the banners shared online had the hashtags #LetUsLive #TheseAreMyLastWords and #WeAreAfghanLGBTQ.

When will The New York Times cover the plight of LGBT+ Afghans?#LetUsLive #TheseAreMyLastWords #WeAreAfghanLGBTQ pic.twitter.com/6eLxBQrKD4

— Behesht Collective