According to reports, two queer people were detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan after they were found at Kabul airport as they were trying to leave the country.

As reported by The Independent, Maryam Ravish, a 19-year-old queer woman, and Maeve Alcina Pieescu, a 23-year-old trans person, were detained by Taliban authorities at Kabul airport last Thursday, March 20. The pair were trying to board a flight to Tehran in an attempt to leave Afghanistan.

Parwen Hussaini, who is Maryam Ravish’s same-sex partner, relayed the information to The Independent, saying that the couple and their friend were trying to escape to Iran to be able to live freely away from the Taliban.

The couple had reportedly fallen in love in 2021, calling off their relationship due to the pressure of being queer under Taliban rule. However, the pair had gotten back together in 2023 and were supposed to start a fresh chapter in Iran.

For several months, Roshaniya, an LGBTQ+ community organisation in Afghanistan, had been working on a plan to evacuate the three members of the LGBTQ+ community, spending over $5,000 (€4,650). The organisation also planned to document the story of being a same-sex couple in Afghanistan.

While Parwen Hussaini was able to board the flight without trouble, Ravish and Pieescu were stopped by Taliban agents, who checked their phones and found that they were members of the queer community.

Nemat Sadat, CEO of Roshaniya, spoke to The Independent about the pair, saying: “I last heard from them when they were being taken away by Taliban’s armed men inside the airport in a car.”

“I fear that they have now been arrested by them and lodged in Taliban’s custody somewhere in Kabul,” Sadat said, adding that the organisation fears for their welfare as Taliban prisons are known to be “extremely harsh” for trans 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.”

Speaking about the situation, Hussaini said: “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.”