Concern is growing for two LGBTQ+ activists who have reportedly been imprisoned by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
According to the Afghan LGBTQ+ nonprofit Roshaniya, Lesbian woman Maryam Ravish, 19, and Trans woman Maeve Alcina Pieescu, 23, were arrested while trying to board a Mahan Airlines flight to Tehran from Kabul on March 20th, with Maryam’s partner Parwen Hussaini.
According to Nemat Sadat, their employer and CEO of Roshaniya, although Parwen was able to board the flight, Maeve and Maryam were stopped before they boarded the plane and had their phones checked, at which point the agents saw LGBTQ+ content.
Nemat and Parwen have expressed concern that the pair could possibly face execution by stoning under the Taliban’s strict Sharia law, which prohibits homosexuality. Nemat believes they could also be tortured to give the names of other LGBTQ+ people in Afghanistan.
They are seeking to have the case recognised and publicised by human rights and LGBTQ+ asylum support organisations such as Amnesty International and Rainbow Railroad.
Nemat expressed deep concern for the two women to the Independent, especially for Maeve, given the Taliban’s harsh treatment of Transgender people.
“The Taliban free women from prisons with some guarantees from family members, but they are likely to punish, sexually harass, and even subject members of the Trans community to torture in prison,” he said.
Speaking to the Peter Tatchell Foundation, Parwen said: “I plead with you to please help us, work with Nemat Sadat and our team at Roshaniya, so we can get help to be relocated to a safe place—me, Maryam, and Maeve—to escape from the existential threats that we face from the Taliban and our relatives.”
