The Taliban reportedly detained at least two members of the LGBT+ community in Afghanistan after finding out that they were on their way to Iran.
Maryam Ravish, 19, and Maeve Alcina Pieescu, 23, a trans person, were taken away from the Kabul airport last Thursday as they were boarding their morning flight to Tehran, Ms Ravish’s same-sex partner Parwen Hussaini told The Independent on Wednesday.
Ms Ravish and Ms Hussaini, who have been in a relationship for nearly four years, were looking to escape to Iran to live away from the Taliban’s scrutiny, she said. The escape was going to be documented by their friend Maeve Alcina Pieescu.
The three of them were set to leave on a Mahan Air flight, scheduled to depart Kabul at 10.35am and land in Tehran by 1pm.
Since the Taliban government requires women to be accompanied by a male chaperone, they had to take along a travel agent. The whereabouts of the travel agent were not immediately clear.
While Ms Hussaini was able to board the flight without any trouble, Ms Ravish and Ms Pieescu were stopped by the Taliban’s intelligence agents, who checked their phones and found out they were members of the queer community, said Nemat Sadat, their employer and CEO of Roshaniya, an LGBT+ community organisation in Afghanistan.
“I last heard from them when they were being taken away by Taliban’s armed men inside the airport in a car,” Mr Sadat told The Independent. “I fear that they have now been arrested by them and lodged in Taliban’s custody somewhere in Kabul.”
Mr Sadat, who had been working with Ms Ravish and Ms Pieescu for over a year, said he was concerned for their welfare as the Taliban prisons were known to be “extremely harsh” for 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. “It is very likely that Ms Maeve is being punished in the prison by the Taliban right now.”
Mr Sadat said Roshaniya had spent more than $5,000 (£3,865) and several months of planning to safely evacuate the three LGBT+ members from Afghanistan. The NGO also planned to document their story of being in a same-sex relationship in Afghanistan.
The Independent was shown copies of the airplane tickets, passports and visas obtained for Ms Ravish, Ms Hussaini and Ms Pieescu to leave Afghanistan.
“The actual source of this problem is rooted in the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, which deems homosexuality forbidden and a woman’s place to be in the home, which is why Afghan women are required to have a male chaperone if they wish to leave the house and travel on their own,” Mr Sadat said.
Ms Hussaini said that she and Ms Ravish fell in love in school in December 2021, shortly after the Taliban took back power in Kabul. It was difficult carrying on a same-sex relationship in the city, so they called off their relationship one year later. But they mustered the courage to get back together in 2023, Ms Hussaini told The Independent over the phone from Tehran.
They were supposed to start a fresh chapter in Iran this week as they realised their relationship would not be accepted by their families in Afghanistan.
“My agony is indescribable. I knew that if I were to leave Afghanistan, it would not be without Maryam. She knew she would leave her family because they would never support us. I am spending every waking moment alone in Iran and in guilt that my partner is in prison because of our bid to escape Afghanistan,” Ms Hussaini said.
The Independent has reached out to the Taliban for a comment.
