LGBTQ people in Afghanistan who spoke to CNN say they need help to escape Taliban fighters before they are discovered and forced to face the new regime's brutal laws.
Growing up as a teenager in Afghanistan, Rabia Balkhi felt lucky.
Despite being born in a country with a long history of discrimination against its LGBTQ people, Balkhi's family accepted her as a lesbian.Now Balkhi says that rare acceptance has put all their lives at risk, as the new Taliban leadership in Kabul unleashes a wave of physical violence and fear on Afghanistan's gay, lesbian and transgender population. As soon as the Taliban recaptured Kabul in August, Balkhi and her family went into hiding.
See what life under Taliban rule looks like outside of Kabul 04:02Prejudice resurgentEven before the Taliban took power in August, life wasn't easy for LGBTQ people in Afghanistan.A 2020 US State Department report on Afghanistan said LGBTQ people faced"discrimination, assault and rape" as well as harassment and arrest by authorities."Homosexuality was widely seen as taboo and indecent," the report said.
'We will not keep silent': female Afghan activist 09:48Balkhi fears her family could be attacked or killed for knowingly hiding an LGBTQ person. Unable to sleep out of fear of being discovered, she said she is worried if the Taliban find her, they will stone her to death for being a lesbian.
'What are they going to do? Kill all of us?': Hear from female activist in Kabul 04:11Balkhi said lesbians like her have one advantage over other LGBTQ people -- as some women hide their faces in public, they are able to disguise their identities under chadri, a cloak-style garment that covers the body and face.Last month she and her family wore chadris to Kabul airport, hoping to board an evacuation flight out, but they were pushed back by the Taliban.
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