Death by sadness, or the Taliban: LGBTQ Afghans in hiding

As the Taliban appeared on every corner of Kabul, Marwa and her friend — both gay Afghans — took the drastic decision to become husband and wife.

The hurried marriage was conducted with no ceremony or family around them.

“I was telling myself that the Taliban would come and kill me,” the 24-year-old told AFP in an interview conducted over WhatsApp.

“I was afraid, I was crying all the time… so I asked my friend to prepare a marriage document,” said Marwa, using a pseudonym for security reasons.

Many LGBTQ Afghans are haunted by the Taliban’s brutally repressive reign from 1996 to 2001, when gay men were stoned to death or crushed by toppled walls as punishment.

The militants have not officially commented on the subject since they overran Kabul on August 15, but former senior judge Gul Rahim told Germany’s Bild newspaper that the death penalty for gay people would return.