Two young LGBTQ activists named Maeve and Maryam Ravish were arrested by the Taliban last month while attempting to flee Afghanistan. The U.K.-based Peter Tatchell Foundation reports the pair now face possible torture — or even execution.
According to Nemat Sadat, CEO of Afghan LGBT+ network Roshaniya, “They are expected to be tortured to reveal the names of other LGBTs and sentenced to a long jail term or possibly executed.” The foundation is working to secure their release. According to the foundation, Maeve, a 23-year-old trans woman, and Ravish, age 19, had planned to board a flight to Iran on March 20, along with Ravish’s partner, Parwen Hussaini. But at the Kabul airport, Taliban intelligence officers detained them after finding queer content on their phones.
Sadat said, “Maeve and Maryam were beaten by the Taliban.” Hussaini, who did make it to Iran, says both her life and Ravish’s have since been threatened by their own families. She also revealed that Maeve’s family in Afghanistan has rejected support from Roshaniya. However, Maeve’s sister in Michigan, Susan Battaglia, has pleaded for global help. Susan said, “My family in Afghanistan is very anxious about Maeve being tortured and killed…We ask world governments to demand that Maeve be released from prison and safely leave the country.”
Under Taliban rule, homosexuality is banned, women must be chaperoned, and apostasy — which Maeve admitted to — can be punishable by death. Sadat is calling on global rights groups to act now and demand the release of both women — before it’s too late.
