Taliban arrest LGBTQs – one a teenager – amid fears they’ll be ‘tortured’ to reveal others and executed
"It is possible they'll be placed in solitary confinement and stoned to death" says the partner of one of the detained
The Taliban have arrested and imprisoned two leading underground Afghan LGBTQ activists: Maryam Ravish, a lesbian, and Maeve Alcina Pieescu, a trans woman.
Activists outside of Afghanistan, such as human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, now fear the pair will be forced to name others. They may also be sentenced to execution under Sharia law.
Homosexuality is illegal in Afghanistan and punishable by the death penalty in extreme interpretations of Sharia law, which the Taliban claims to enforce.
Maryam, 19, and Maeve, 23, were set to escape Kabul on a Mahan Airlines flight to Iran with Maryam’s same-gender partner, Parwen Hussaini, aged 20, on 20 March 2025, with the aid of Roshaniya, the Afghan LGBT+ network, according to the Peter Tatchell Foundation.
Roshaniya is working with the Foundation in London to publicise the pair’s plight and press for their release.
“They are expected to be tortured to reveal the names of other LGBTs”
Nemat Sadat, CEO of Roshaniya, commented: “When Maryam and Maeve went to board the plane, they were detained by the Taliban’s intelligence unit who searched their phones and discovered LGBTQ content. Maeve and Maryam were beaten by the Taliban. They are expected to be tortured to reveal the names of other LGBTs and sentenced to a long jail term or possibly executed.”
Parwen Hussaini, Maryam’s lesbian partner, managed to get on the flight and is now in Iran. Parwen and Maryam planned to eventually marry in a European city.
Hussaini has recorded a video documenting in Farsi what has happened. This is the translation, provided by The Peter Tatchell Foundation: “Salaam. I’m Parwen, 20 years old from Kabul, one of the LGBTs from Afghanistan, a human rights defender, and a member of Roshaniya LGBT+ organisation led by Nemat Sadat. [Since Maryam and Maeve were seized by the Taliban] Maryam’s family got in touch with me and they have threatened my life and so has my own family.
“Maeve and Maryam are still being held in Taliban captivity and they have been beaten and battered very badly. […] We have no word from Maryam to know what situation they are in now. It is possible they would be placed in solitary confinement and stoned to death — it is possible for them to receive a death penalty.
“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. We ask human rights organisations and international LGBT+ organisations that work towards helping LGBT+ people to please work with us to pursue our freedom and save our loved ones from harm’s way,” said Hussaini.
Susan Battaglia, the sister of Maeve, who now lives in Michigan in the US, said:
“Maeve is my sister and I’m distraught that she is imprisoned. My family in Afghanistan is very anxious about Maeve being tortured and killed. During the Taliban’s interrogation, Maeve confessed that she is not a Muslim and doesn’t believe in Islam. This is scary for our family since the penalty for apostasy — under Sharia law — is death. We ask from the world governments to demand that that Maeve be released from prison and safely leave the country.”
Nemat Sadat added in a statement: “In Maryam’s case, her family refused to accept her sexuality as a lesbian and forced her to marry a man. She tried to escape and Maeve, a trans person, helped her at great personal risk. Maryam and Maeve now face the death penalty for simply wanting to be free and happy. Please unite with us to demand the immediate release of Maryam Ravish and Maeve Alcina Pieescu.
“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.
“We ask all human rights organisations – especially Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International – and LGBT+ organisations – especially OutRight International, ILGA Asia, Stonewall, Rainbow Railroad, and Human Rights Campaign – to please help us spread the word about the arrest of Maryam and Maeve and pressure the Taliban regime to to release these two brave LGBT+ Afghan human rights defenders.”