Two Afghan LGBT+ activists arrested by Taliban at risk of execution

 

The Taliban have arrested and imprisoned two leading underground Afghan LGBT+ activists, Maryam Ravish, a lesbian, and Abdul Ghafoor Sabery, a trans woman who goes by her chosen name Maeve Alcina Pieescu. Their lives are in grave danger and at risk of execution.

Mariam, 19, and Maeve, 23, were set to escape Kabul on a Mahan Airlines flight to Iran with Mariam’s same-gender partner, Parwen Hussaini, aged 20, on 20 March 2025, with the aid of Roshaniya, the Afghan LGBT+ network.

The Peter Tatchell Foundation in London publicises their plight and press for their release: “We ask all human rights organizations (especially Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International) and LGBT+ organizations (especially OutRight International, ILGA Asia, Stonewall, Rainbow Railroad, and Human Rights Campaign) to please help us spread the word about the arrest of Mariam and Maeve and pressure the Taliban regime to to release these two brave LGBT+ Afghan human rights defenders."

The Taliban returned to power following the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, instituting an immediate return to its interpretation of Sharia law. Under Taliban rule, homosexuality is forbidden and women are required to have a male chaperone if they wish to leave their homes.

Since then, LGBTQ+ Afghans have been tortured, stoned to death, sexually assaulted, and forced into heterosexual marriages, among other atrocities, while a large number of members of the LGBT community lost their lives due to suicide. 

The Taliban have also been slashing away at women’s rights since returning to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. The Taliban have issued more than 70 edicts, including limiting girls to primary-level education, banning women from most professions and prohibiting them from using parks, gyms and other public places. Among the rules, it is mandatory for a woman to veil her body at all times in public and that a face covering is essential to avoid temptation and tempting others. 

A 2022 report and video by Human Rights Watch ashowed the desperate situation of LGBTQ people in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in 2021.