Since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, numerous citizens have encountered various risks. This includes former military personnel, government employees, women, girls, and LGBTQ+ individuals, all facing the looming threats of death and incarceration. Particularly, transgender individuals in Afghanistan have endured sexual assaults by the Taliban and endured complete exclusion from public life. This report delves into the living circumstances of a transgender person who suffered sexual assault. They recount their harrowing experiences and assert living covertly under severe economic and psychological strain.
With their control over Afghanistan, the Taliban have announced that the supreme leader of this group has issued a general amnesty, stating that no citizen will be subjected to revenge for their involvement in the previous government. However, over the past nearly three years, this group has repeatedly and continuously harassed, tortured, and in many cases, killed former security forces, government employees, women, girls, and other ethnic and religious minorities.
Transgender individuals in Afghanistan say that after the Taliban’s takeover, they are at risk of complete eradication from society and are struggling with tough economic conditions. According to transgender individuals, in addition to their families and society’s disdainful attitudes, they also lack legal protection.
Almas (pseudonym) is a transgender individual in Takhar province. They state that due to economic difficulties, they have been unable to leave this province and are constantly at risk of murder, sexual assault, and detention by Taliban fighters. This transgender person asserts that four months after the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, they were sexually assaulted by members of this group.
Almas adds: “It was evening, I went out to buy groceries. There was no one in the street. A black-tinted car approached me. When it got closer, three people got out of the car and forcibly threw me into their vehicle. Inside the car, they tightly covered my mouth so that no one would hear my screams. The car was in motion for nearly 40 minutes.”
This transgender individual states that after a 40-minute journey, Taliban fighters stopped their car in a deserted field and then sexually assaulted them. They recall: “I was assaulted in an empty field. They were speaking Pashto, and I only understood them saying that if I resisted, they would kill me.”
After being sexually assaulted by Taliban fighters, Almas has faced severe psychological and emotional challenges. They emphasize feeling hatred towards their existence and have isolated themselves in a room since then, not discussing this matter with any of their family members.
The transgender individual adds: “I tried a couple of times to tell my mother that seven people had sexually assaulted me, but I remembered my mother saying that because I’m a transgender, she is disrespected among people.”
Almas says she wants to be a girl. She is interested in makeup, long hair, and fancy clothes; however, due to societal objections and fear of the Taliban, she cannot live according to her preferences. Almas recalls: “Because of my hair, I was beaten several times, and then I was ridiculed. Out of fear, I have become indifferent to things I love.”
This 24-year-old transgender person lives in a 10-member family. She says that during the previous government, she worked in a clothing and cosmetics center and supported her family financially, but she has been unable to work since August 15, 2021.
Almas says: “My father is old and cannot work, but I have been imprisoned at home for three years due to fear of sexual harassment and death, and I cannot help them.”
It is worth noting that after the fall of the government to the Taliban, many transgender individuals and members of the LGBTQ+ community in Afghanistan have sought refuge in neighboring countries. Some of them also face increased harassment and violence in neighboring countries.
Almas appeals to human rights organizations to save her life, as otherwise, she will perish due to extreme poverty, and if she leaves home, she will fall victim to Taliban group rape.
Previous investigative reports by the Hasht-e Subh Daily have also shown that transgender individuals in Afghanistan are at risk of destruction and severe sexual assault. According to the findings of this report, the Taliban treat transgender individuals as sexual slaves.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
ترانسجندرها در رژیم طالبان؛ قصه تلخ زندهگی ترانسجندرها در تخار