The Taliban are, to put it mildly, anti-LGBTQ extremists. The situation is complicated by the fact that the traditional Afghan leaders the Taliban are pushing out participate in and tolerate homosexual customs that are sexually abusive toward teenage boys.

The Taliban are promising to stamp out that fairly widespread custom, but they don’t distinguish it from homosexuality in general, so the small number of openly gay people in Afghanistan (I mean the ones practicing or advocating for consensual adult relationships) are on notice that their lives are at extreme risk. The last time the Taliban were in widespread control in Afghanistan, they slaughtered a lot of gay people.

It’s rare in Afghanistan to find openly trans people, but the Taliban do not tolerate violating gender norms, even in the certain very limited situations where that’s part of traditional Afghan culture. Hell, the Taliban don’t tolerate girls going to school or women exercising independence from fathers or husbands.

The last time the Taliban were in charge, life for LGBTQ people and for women and girls became really terrible.

That is undoubtedly going to happen again, and it’s ridiculous that people are not focusing on unjust suffering and persecution for nonsensical reasons.

That they have to use this as an opportunity to bash on trans people is horrifying. It speaks to them being crazed fanatics.

When will this madness end?