Joint Statement on Afghanistan: Protect Women, Children, LGBTIQ & Other Vulnerable Persons

We, the undersigned organisations working to advance the human rights of persons of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) call for the protection of women, children, LGBTIQ people and other vulnerable persons in Afghanistan.

Since 15 August, the Taliban-led takeover of Kabul’s Presidential Palace and the abrupt collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan’s government raises concerns over human rights and the safety of marginalised groups in the country. Besides LGBTIQ people and people of diverse SOGIESC, women, persecuted religious minorities, journalists and human rights defenders have come under threat, and many have gone into hiding out of fear.

We are concerned with alleged reports of the Taliban already implementing their strict version of the Sharia law, and it has been reported that many women and girls fear participating in public life and face the risk of being banned from going to school and university again. We are saddened to see the decades of progress made by women’s groups be potentially reversed suddenly and disastrously.

We also fear that LGBTIQ people will be further criminalised and persecuted, as authorities in the Taliban have made recent statements that death sentences will be reinstated for gay men. The Afghan LGBTIQ people have already been living in fear of violence and killings for a number of years, and we dread that this situation will escalate further.

In ILGA World’s latest State-Sponsored Homophobia (2020) report, Afghanistan is listed among countries for which there is no full legal certainty that the death penalty is the established punishment for consensual same-sex sexual acts (see here). The same report also updates on the explicit criminalising provisions of “same-sex conduct” under Section 646 of Afghanistan’s 2017 Penal Code and enforcement in recent years (see here).

While the Taliban has announced a “general amnesty” in Afghanistan and has called for women to join its government “according to Sharia law”, it is imperative that any form of governance that takes place, needs to empower women and minorities and be based on human rights and evidence-based practices. If the Taliban wants to include women, it needs to first stop preventing women from accessing public life and education and to not perpetuate any harm against women and minorities.

The crisis in Afghanistan is complex and difficult, but we remind the international community that it has a moral obligation—particularly those who have played a role in the development of the issue—to ensure that the political crisis is diffused via a solution that prioritises the self-determination of the Afghan people while protecting vulnerable persons from harm and violence.

We call for the following:

• We urge the Taliban to respect the rights of all people granted by the Constitution of Afghanistan, the international covenants ratified by Afghanistan, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and international human rights norms, irrespective of their SOGIESC status.
• We demand that any effort to quell this political crisis will be made with the consultation of vulnerable people in Afghanistan including LGBTIQ persons and women. Their human rights must not be compromised for a political peace deal.
• We call on the international community to provide urgent humanitarian assistance and protection to all Afghans.
• We urge that countries open their borders and accept refugees and asylum seekers from Afghanistan. We commend Canada’s commitment to accepting 20,000 vulnerable Afghans and prioritising LGBTIQ persons, women leaders and other groups, and look to other countries to follow suit.
• We call on everyone to work together to provide support in their own capacity. We call on individuals and groups to make donations, donors to make emergency funding available, and for organisations to assist in coordinating the collection and distribution of funds, noting the lack of LGBTIQ organisations in Afghanistan.

Endorsed by the following groups:

1. 6Rang (Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network)
2. Access Planet Organization
3. African Trans Network
4. Aleph Melbourne
5. All Out
6. All Women’s Action Society (AWAM)
7. Alouen
8. Amnesty International Taiwan Section
9. Antalya Feminist Kolektif
10. ASEAN Feminist LBQ Network
11. ASEAN SOGIE Caucus
12. Asia Pacific Transgender Network
13. Asia-Pacific Rainbow Catholics Network
14. Bangladesh Queer Partnership Platform- EQUAL
15. Beyond Borders Malaysia
16. Bisdak Pride, Inc.
17. Bisexual Alliance Victoria
18. Boys of Bangladesh (Formerly)
19. Campaign for Change
20. CAN-Myanmar
21. CEDAW Committee of Trinidad & Tobago
22. Centre for Civil and Political Rights
23. Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) Malaysia
24. COC Netherlands
25. Community Welfare and Development Fund
26. Covenants Watch
27. CPCD Studio
28. Dawei Probono Lawyer Network
29. Deaf Rainbow
30. Diversity and Solidarity Trust – Sri Lanka
31. Diversity Lounge Toyama
32. Doshisha University
33. Edge Effect
34. ELLY Fukui
35. Equal Asia Foundation
36. EQUAL GROUND, Sri Lanka
37. GAYa NUSANTARA Foundation
38. Gays Without Borders
39. Helem
40. Human Dignity Trust
41. Human Rights Defenders World Summit
42. ILGA Asia
43. ILGA World
44. Iloilo Pride Team
45. Inclusive Bangladesh
46. International Service for Human Rights
47. International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific
48. Intersex Asia
49. Intersex Philippines
50. isha lisha – Haifa feminist center
51. Ishikawa Conference for LGBT
52. Iwate Rainbow Network
53. J-ALL (Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation)
54. JEJAKA
55. justice for sisters
56. Kampania Przeciw Homofobii | Campaign Against Homophobia (Poland)
57. Kanazawa Rainbow Pride
58. Kaos GL
59. Korean Sexual-minority Culture & Rights Center
60. LakanBini Advocates Pilipinas
61. Legal Dignity
62. Let’s Breakthrough, Inc.
63. Lezpa
64. LGBT Centre
65. LOUD (Lesbians of Undeniable Drive)
66. LOVE4ONE
67. M-coalition
68. MANODIVERSA
69. Manushya Foundation
70. Marsa Sexual Health Center
71. Matimba
72. Metro Manila Pride
73. Midneunfemi
74. Monsoon Malaysia (MM)
75. MOSAIC Mena
76. Movimiento de Integración y Liberación Homosexual (MOVILH)
77. Mujer-LGBT Organization, Inc
78. Namibia Diverse Women Association
79. Nijiiro Diversity
80. Noboprobhaat
81. Nőkért Egyesület (Association for Women), Hungary
82. NPO Tokyo Rainbow Pride
83. Oogachaga
84. Organization Intersex International-Chinese (Oii-Chinese)
85. Outrage Magazine
86. Pacific Human Rights Initiative
87. Palestinian Working Woman for Development “PWWSD”
88. Pan Africa ILGA
89. PELANGI Campaign
90. Persatuan Sahabat Wanita, Selangor (Friends of Women Organisation, Selangor)
91. Pioneer Filipino Transgender men Movement
92. PLACE TOKYO
93. Planet Ally
94. PLUHO (People Like Us Hang Out!)
95. Pride House Tokyo
96. PROHAM
97. Proud Futures
98. PT Foundation
99. Queer Voices of Bhutan
100. Queers4Climate
101. Rainbow Action Against Sexual-Minority Discrimination
102. Rainbow Egypt
103. RainbowJesus (무지개예수)
104. RFSL (The Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Rights)
105. Sans Tabous
106. Sayoni
107. SEED Malaysia
108. Seoul Human Rights Film Festival in South Korea
109. SGRainbow
110. SHARE, center for Sexual rigHts And Reproductive justicE
111. Sisters in Islam, Malaysia
112. SOGILAW
113. SORANIJI HIMEJI
114. Success Capital Organisation
115. Swasti
116. Taiwan Association for Human Rights
117. Taiwan Equality Campaign
118. Taiwan Gender Equity Education Association
119. Taiwan LGBTQ Family Rights Advocacy
120. Taiwan Tongzhi (LGBTQ+) Hotline Association
121. The Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK)
122. The Global Center for LGBTI+ Freedom and Education
123. The Institute for Studies on Society, Economy & Environment – iSEE
124. Thorne Harbour Health
125. Together4Change: DAWOOM
126. Transgender Equality Hong Kong
127. Transgender Victoria
128. Transpiration Power
129. Trikone Australasia Inc
130. Tufts University
131. UP Babaylan
132. Visayas LBTQ Network
133. Women Against Rape
134. Women for Women’s Human Rights (WWHR)
135. Youth Voices Count
136. にじ♡はぐ　石川
137. ひだまりの会

ILGA Asia is the Asian Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, representing more than 170 LGBTI organizations in East, South, Southeast, and West Asia, with the administrative office in Bangkok, Thailand. For inquiries, please email:

• Henry Koh, ILGA Asia Executive Director
  henry@ilgaasia.org
• Ryan Ong, ILGA Asia Communications Officer
  ryan@ilgaasia.org