World
Out in the World: LGBTQ news from Europe and Asia
Thai lawmakers approve marriage equality bill
PORTUGAL
The Portuguese Parliament passed the final draft of a bill this past week, which was first introduced last May by the Bloco de Esquerda, the populist democratic socialist political party, that outlaws “any practice aimed at the forced conversion of sexual orientation, identity or gender expression.”
Joined in a coalition with the Livre and PAN parties, the new law incorporates into the country’s penal code that “whoever subjects another person to this type of treatment, including the performance or promotion of medical-surgical procedures, practices with pharmacological, psychotherapeutic or other psychological or behavioral resources, will be punished with a prison sentence of up to three years or a fine.”
During the parliamentary debate in the Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees, the College of Physicians Committee issued a statement in which it criticized this type of therapy for “not having proven its effectiveness nor respecting the ethical and deontological standards of medical practice.” The organization highlighted that “diversity in sexual orientation and gender identity represents normal expressions, which cannot be considered diseases.”
The law now heads to President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa for his signature.
Passage of the law by Parliament brings Portugal into alignment with other European Union nations. Malta was the first European country to ban the practice followed by Germany, Greece, Albania, France and Belgium.
SPAIN
The Assembly of Madrid, the unicameral autonomous legislature which governs the region around Spain’s capital city, voted this past week to rollback protections for transgender people. The measure was passed by the conservative People’s Party.
The measure also contained a proviso that guidelines preventing harassment of LGBTQ students in schools is eliminated, all content aimed at showing the LGBTQ community and the training of teachers in this matter are removed from the study plans.
The bill amended a regional trans rights law and an LGBTQ rights law, both of which were passed in 2016. The decision makes Madrid the first Spanish region to roll back such legislation. The anti-trans bill stripped the previous law of its fundamental pillar: The concept of “gender self-determination” or “freely expressed gender identification.”
The PP’s new law replaced the terms “trans people” and “gender identity” with “transsexuals” and “transsexuality,” terms which activists say are demeaning.
The Standard, a British news outlet, reported the move by the PP party sparked outcry from the opposition in Madrid and LGBTQ activists.
Carla Antonelli, an assembly member for the left-wing Mas Madrid party who is trans, wore red gloves symbolizing bloodied hands during the raucous debate preceding the vote. She called the bill an “abomination” and compared it to the actions of Nazi SS doctor Josef Mengele, who “also spoke of science to exterminate Jews and LGTBQ people.”
“When you press that button to vote for this infamy … you will all have blood on your hands,” Antonelli said adding: “This is terrorism towards trans people. You won’t be able to wash your dirty conscience because we will remind you of it every day.”
The Standard also noted that in December 2022, Spain passed a nationwide bill allowing trans people aged 14 and over to change their legal gender without the need for psychological or other medical evaluation, though those aged 14-16 would still need parental or guardians’ agreement.
Fourteen other Spanish regions out of the country’s 17 have laws for the protection of trans rights, LGBTQ rights, or both, on the books.
GREECE
The spokesperson for Greece’s center-right government announced Dec. 21 that legislation legalizing same-sex marriage will be brought to the Hellenic Parliament before its current term expires in 2027.
Pavlos Marinakis noted this action would take place despite facing staunch opposition from the country’s influential Orthodox Church, which the church’s governing Holy Synod had submitted late on Dec. 20, expressing strong opposition to legalizing same-sex marriage.
The Greek City Times reported that the church’s stance drew significant attention from the Greek news media, sparking a lively debate within the country. Opinion polls indicate that Greeks are evenly divided on the issue of same-sex marriage but generally oppose granting full parental rights to gay couples.
“The position of the Church of Greece remains that children have an innate need and therefore a right to grow up with a male father and a female mother. No amount of social modernization and no amount of political correctness can bypass (this),” the church document said.
“Children are not companion pets for those who wish to feel like a guardian, and are not ‘accessories’ to formalize or make same-sex cohabitation socially acceptable,” it added.
The Associated Press noted that Greece’s left-wing opposition leader, Stefanos Kasselakis, married his male partner in New York in October, several weeks after winning a party leadership election.
Greece legalized same-sex civil partnerships in 2015.
HUNGARY
In a press conference on Dec. 21, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accused the European Commission of blackmailing his country over its anti-LGBTQ laws and other rule-of-law concerns.
“In our view, Hungary fulfils all the qualities of the rule of law, and when the European Commission has specific needs, we implement everything from them, and we are also cooperative,” Orbán told reporters. “You cannot blame me for doing everything I can to promote Hungary’s interests in such a blackmailed situation.”
Orbán has been embroiled in a long-standing dispute with the governing body of the EU, the European Commission, which has frozen billions of funds intended for Hungary over concerns about human rights and the rule of law in the country.
The government of the conservative ruling party of the prime minister has been feuding with the EU since passage of Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ education law in June 2021.
Orbán, who has publicly proclaimed that he is a “defender of traditional family Catholic values,” has been criticised by international human rights groups as discriminating against LGBTQ+ people with this law which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called a “disgrace.”
The European Commission, the ruling body of the EU, referred Hungary to the EU Court of Justice over the anti-LGBT law in mid-2022. The commission has said it considers that the law violates the EU’s internal market rules, the fundamental rights of individuals and EU values.
UNITED KINGDOM
A Manchester Crown jury found a pair of teenagers guilty in the murder of Brianna Ghey, a 16 year old trans girl and TikTok creator who was brutally stabbed to death in a park in Culcheth, Warrington, in February 2023.
The jury unanimously ruled the teens, known only as Girl X and Boy Y, guilty after deliberating for over four hours. The judge said she would have to impose a life sentence, with the official sentencing to take place next year.
Ghey, who lived in Birchwood, Cheshire, and was a junior at Birchwood Community High School had been bullied for her trans identity according to comments left on social media posts by friends and fellow students.
Her friends alleged she had been bullied and gang beaten at Birchwood Community High School for several years over the “simple reason of being trans.”
The gruesome details came out during the trial in Manchester, where the jury heard testimony that the pair, a male and a female, both 16 had a “thirst for killing” and were fascinated by torture.
PinkNewsUK reported a “murder plan” was later discovered in the female’s bedroom, and investigators discovered that they had put together a “kill list” made up of five children before they settled on making Ghey their first target. The jury also heard that male had referred to Ghey as “it” rather than “she,” which he said was a “joke” between himself and his female accomplice.
The Judge, Amanda Louise Yip, noted that she would have to impose a life sentence for both defendants. She explained that she will now have to decide what the “minimum amount of time you will be required to serve before you might be considered for release” should be.
Yip, after the jury’s verdict was delivered, announced there was a public interest in lifting restrictions on reporting the teenagers’ names, which because of their ages had not been disclosed. However she said the welfare of the defendants could be put at risk if supports were not put in place, BBC News reported.
The judge acknowledged that naming Ghey’s murderers would “cause distress to their families,” and she noted that they had already faced threats and harassment due to their children’s actions.
“I believe the appropriate balance can be achieved by directing that the order may be lifted but placing a [delay] upon it until the date of sentencing,” she said.
The Tory government’s Department for Education released a set of much-feared school policies and guidance concerning transgender students on Dec. 18. LGBTQ advocacy groups responded, describing the government’s draft guidance for trans schoolchildren proposals as “chilling” and “actively dangerous.”
PinkNewsUK reported the long-delayed guidance on how to support trans and non-binary pupils at school lays out steps to approach a range of issues, from social transition, to changing names and pronouns, to access to single-sex spaces.
The non-statutory guidance explicitly states that primary school-aged children “should not have different pronouns to their sex-based pronouns used about them,” and that if a child wishes to socially transition, parents should be engaged.
The plan further outlined policies that would forcibly out trans youth to their parents, ban pronouns for all primary school trans youth, prevent trans youth from using restrooms that align with their gender identity and could even lead to forced haircuts and clothing choices.
Journalist Erin Reed noted the policies even allow schools to enforce uniform policies based on a student’s assigned sex at birth, explicitly stating that trans students should follow the “hairstyle rules” of their assigned sex at birth. This would lead to trans girls being forced, for instance, to cut their hair short. You can see the policies here:
Social transition bans are, of course, seen and being promoted in other countries as well. New Zealand’s “Resist Gender Education” calls for the government to ban all social transition in schools, “even with parental consent.” In a statement to PinkNewsUK, Mermaids, a group that advocates for trans youth, added that the government’s guidance is “out-of-touch” and “absurd”.
“It is difficult to understand how aspects of this draft guidance, including automatically excluding trans pupils from facilities, sport bans or allowing students to be misgendered are compatible with existing equalities law,” the charity said.
“The overwhelming majority of teachers and parents believe trans pupils should be safe at school and will disregard these discriminatory guidelines, which will be non-compulsory.”
NEW ZEALAND
A new government policy will yank millions of dollars of public funding from New Zealand sports organizations as the government of newly elected Prime Minister Christopher Luxon sets out its agenda to “ensure publicly funded sporting bodies support fair competition that is not compromised by rules relating to gender.”
Andy Foster, a spokesperson for the populist and nationalist political New Zealand First party says it is “about fairness and safety in sport for women,” the NZ Herald reported.
Trans athlete and two-time national champion mountain biker Kate Weatherly told the Herald she fears it will lead to athletes being forced into men’s competitions or sidelined completely. Given the minimal number of trans women competing in amateur sports, Weatherly fears it could lead to their exclusion from the grassroots arena, she added.
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop was uncomfortable discussing the coalition agreement. “New Zealand First are very keen to make sure we have an inclusive environment and atmosphere for everybody — and that rules relating to gender don’t get in the way of that,” Bishop told the Herald.
“It is a tricky one, a thorny issue. There’s strong views on both sides of the debate. I’ll work through that with the relevant sporting bodies. Ultimately it’s got to go over to sporting bodies to make sure that we have fair competition.”
THAILAND
On Dec. 21, the Thai House of Representatives passed four draft bills regarding legalizing same-sex marriages in this Southeast Asia nation which has one of the more open cultures in that part of the world in acceptance of LGBTQ people.
Amnesty International Thailand Researcher Chanatip Tatiyakaroonwong noted in a statement:
“By potentially becoming the third place in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, Thailand has the opportunity to set a bold example for LGBTI people’s rights in this region. These bills and the debates in Parliament over them represent a moment of hope for LGBTI people’s rights in Asia, even though there is still much to be done for their full protection.
The final version of this draft legislation must not water down calls for the full spectrum of the right to family life, including access to adoption and inheritance for LGBTI couples, as well as the legal recognition of same-sex couples as ‘spouses’ on an equal footing with different-sex couples.
As LGBTI activists have systematically demonstrated, efforts to broaden rights for LGBTI people don’t go nearly far enough to ensure equal rights guaranteed under international law. These bills set Thailand on a new path that could right those wrongs.
If legislation passes on first reading, Thailand’s Parliament should build on the momentum and prioritize the immediate adoption of this law, taking note of the celebratory reaction as a sign that the country is hungry for equality. Lawmakers in Parliament should continue to demonstrate to Thailand’s LGBTI community that they are listening and valuing their voices, wishes and perspectives.
Guaranteeing full marriage equality in law not only sends a message to the rest of the region but to the rest of the world, at a time when countries all over the globe are changing outdated laws and building more inclusive societies.”
Reuters reported that Deputy Prime Minister Somsak Thepsuthin told Parliament, referring to the government’s draft bill.
“In principle, this draft law is for the amendment of some provisions in the civic codes to open the way for lovers, regardless of their gender, to engage and get married. This will provide rights, responsibilities and family status as equal to the marriage between a man and a woman presently in all aspects,” he said.
Somsak said a government survey conducted between Oct. 31-Nov. 14 showed 96.6 percent public support for the draft bill.
Additional reporting from Esquerda News Lisbon, The Standard UK, Greek City Times, The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, 24.HU News, PinkNewsUK, The BBC, Erin Reed, The New Zealand Herald and Reuters.
Turkey
‘Governments that attack LGBTQ+ rights learn from each other’
Turkish authorities on Sept. 12 launched anti-LGBTQ ‘My Family Is Safe’ campaign
Sept. 12 is a solemn day for the people of Turkey. It is the anniversary of the 1980 coup d’état — when members of the National Security Council, along with the armed forces, dissolved the Turkish parliament, arrested hundreds of thousands of people, and entered a three-year period of martial law.
On Sept 12, the 46th anniversary of the 1980 coup, the country faced another wave of arrests; this time they targeted the LGBTQ community. The government launched the national “My Family Is Safe” campaign, which triggered mass raids and arrests of LGBTQ organization leaders, advocates, academics, and sexual health treatment centers for people with HIV. (These include EU-funded organizations launched by the Turkish government in 2005.) Since the nation has seen a decline in birthrate and a swelling economic crisis, this has allowed authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and conservatives in Turkey to use the LGBTQ community as the ideal scapegoat.
“This is the cruelest part. It was Erdoğan’s own party that made it easier to found NGOs in 2005 as an EU accession process, and that is how many LGBTI+ groups came to be officially registered.” Ali Yildiz, a linguistics graduate student at the University of Cologne in Germany, told the Washington Blade. “Everything was legal, transparent and official. Now those same registrations are being used as arrest lists. The state is basically punishing those who trusted it. It sounds very much like the nazis. They also used member lists of associations to persecute them later.”
Yildiz has witnessed the oppression of the Turkish government firsthand: in 2024, he moved to Germany. As one of the board members of a grassroots NGO that focuses on sexual health, Yildiz was at risk of arrest and prosecution.
As part of the “My Family Is Safe” operation on Sept. 12, police raided Yildiz’s family’s former home to find him.
In the aftermath of these raids in Turkey’s major cities, protestors have gathered at Turkish embassies across Europe and the U.S.
A critical discourse has also emerged as a response to the crackdown across international queer media: how should the West cover oppressive regimes abroad?
“From what I see, the Western reading of Turkey’s crackdown on LGBTI+ people usually goes: it’s a conservative, Muslim country, so this is what you’d expect. I believe that framing is incomplete, and it lets the people responsible off the hook. The Erdoğan regime is also heavily relying on this contextualization,” said Yildiz. “The government is not simply reacting to existing conservatism but is actively shaping it. Look at how operations are presented: raids on LGBTI+ organizations and activists come packaged with claims about drugs, obscenity, sex work, or organized crime on other groups in the news. The evil strategy is to link LGBTI+ people with criminality in the public mind.”
The LGBTQ community is not the only group that has been under the weight of oppression. Political opponents and descendants whom Erdoğan deems criminals are also charged with treason.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is the leading candidate for the upcoming 2028 presidential elections for the opposition center-left Republican People’s Party, was arrested on terrorism charges in 2024. On the same day, he was nominated as the CHP’s presidential candidate.
For a while, X served as a platform to express discontent with the government, but that changed recently when Elon Musk blocked nearly 500 accounts in Turkey. The Turkish government also banned Grok after the AI system responded to a user’s question about Erdoğan, which government leaders found offensive.
The visibility of these pages has decreased. With a VPN, citizens can still access the pages because they were banned only in Turkey, not internationally.
Discontent with the government is increasing, but so is government oppression.
Not only have LGBTQ pages been shut down, but many journalists and academics have also had their pages banned.
The Blade spoke to an anonymous academic living in Ankara, the Turkish capital, who said Erdoğan, U.S. President Donald Trump, and other authoritarian leaders are constantly learning from each other.
“These anti LGBTQ+ policies are being created in the name of preserving traditional family values and are not only a threat to Türkiye,” they said. “It is also a global issue that threatens people everywhere. It should be perceived as an international problem. That is why we LGBTQ+ people need to act in solidarity internationally.”
Because of the compounding human rights crisis happening simultaneously around the globe, visibility has been advocates in Turkey’s main challenge.
Since 2022 there have been a series of crackdowns against opposition parties, academics, labor unions, student organizations, journalist and advocates. Another anonymous academic in Istanbul told the Blade that after the 2022 crackdown, “people were intimidated, and most people did not feel encouraged to organize.”
In the weeks following this recent crackdown, discontent with the Erdoğan government has increased along with inflation and unemployment, not helped by the war in Iran.
“Our leaders do not say anything about the financial crisis,” said the Istanbul academic.
High inflation, high unemployment rates, many factories, and businesses have left Türkiye and transferred their businesses to other countries. And because of the timing of these recent crackdowns, during this financial crisis, many people haven’t been paying attention.
Though for many queer and transgender Turks, post-Sept. 12 life has been radically different.
“I stopped doing drag in order to protect myself, and many queer performance artist friends of mine have also given up this part of their lives,” said one source who asked the Blade to remain anonymous.
“Everybody is not scared, but they simply bring their fear with them to the march and march courageously, because they believe they are on the right side of history,” they added. “However, I think it is important that people in Turkey are not represented only through their experiences of victimization. There should also be spaces where artists, activists, journalists, and other queer people can express themselves in their own words.”
The justification for this crackdown has been preserving “traditional family and conservative values.” The Turkish government has persecuted these offenses with raids, trials, and arrests that have gone beyond just the LGBTQ community. It targeted last year musicians, performers, and artists whom they deemed obscene or offensive.
In September 2025, the K-pop-inspired girl band Manifest was investigated for three months. Footage from their shows was banned from the internet, and the remainder of their tour was canceled. All seven members of the group faced 3 1/2 months prison sentences before the charges were ultimately dropped.
“I believe there is no pride for only some of us. Governments that attack LGBTQ+ rights learn from each other.” Yildiz tells the Blade, “Erdoğan borrows from Putin’s playbook, and parts of the Western right eagerly adopt the same rhetoric. This is a call for our community to see how important international solidarity is. People show up every single year for the Pride March, even though they know the police are going to attack. What I see in our community is pure courage.”
Japan
Report: LGBTQ exclusion costs Japanese economy billions a year
Open for Business findings coincide with marriage equality fight
LGBTQ exclusion may be costing Japan as much as ¥16.42 trillion ($10.35 billion) annually, according to a new report by Open for Business, which argues that greater inclusion could help address the economic pressures facing a country with a shrinking population and workforce.
Japan’s population is projected to decline from 126.15 million in 2020 to about 87 million by 2070, according to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. As the country confronts a shrinking workforce; the economic stakes of retaining talent, improving productivity, and ensuring that LGBTQ people can participate fully in the economy are becoming increasingly significant.
Open for Business estimates that the costs extend beyond lost earnings.
The organization attributes between $25.1 billion to $75.1 billion annually to the excess economic burden associated with depression, suicide and self-harm, cardiovascular disease and HIV/AIDS, and another $12.2 billion to $26.2 billion to lost earnings linked to the LGBTQ wage gap.
A 2026 survey by Dentsu Japan, the Japanese arm of global advertising and public relations company Dentsu Group, found that 10.6 percent of respondents aged 20-59 identified as LGBTQ, up from 9.7 percent in 2023. The survey polled 46,658 people living in Japan.
The report argues that Japan already has the foundations for greater LGBTQ inclusion; pointing to public support, corporate leadership, and growing legal momentum. Progress on these fronts, it says, could reduce the economic costs of exclusion, strengthen workforce participation and help Japan remain competitive.
“For Japan, LGBTQ inclusion is not simply a question of fairness. It is part of the country’s economic resilience,” the report states.
Japan does not legally recognize same-sex marriages at the national level, but partnership systems have spread across local governments. As of 2024, municipalities operating such systems covered nearly 93 percent of Japan’s population. The certificates can help couples access certain services, but they do not carry the same legal status as marriage, including in areas such as inheritance and medical decision-making.
The absence of marriage recognition can leave same-sex couples facing uncertainty over hospital access, medical decisions, and survivor benefits. It can also complicate employers’ decisions about spousal health coverage, relocation assistance and family leave, particularly when policies depend on a marriage recognized under Japanese law.
Japan’s PRIDE Index, administered by the nonprofit Work with Pride since 2016, evaluates corporate initiatives related to LGBTQ employees across five categories, awarding Bronze, Silver or Gold ratings. In 2025, 931 companies headquartered in Japan were assessed, with 80 percent receiving the highest, Gold rating.
Despite progress in corporate inclusion, workplace practices remain uneven.
A 2026 workplace white paper by Nijiiro Diversity found that 55 percent of surveyed employees reported no concrete LGBTQ measures at their workplaces. A separate 2025 survey found that 30 percent of professionals had experienced workplace discrimination or bias based on sexual orientation, while 27 percent reported bias based on gender identity. Only about one-third said they felt comfortable disclosing their sexual orientation or gender identity at work.
The report also points to disparities in HIV and STI outcomes.
Men who have sex with men accounted for an estimated 82 percent of newly diagnosed HIV cases in Japan, according to the report. In a separate study at a Japanese gender-affirming clinic, researchers screened 275 transgender and gender-diverse patients and found that 6.2 percent tested positive for HIV or another sexually transmitted infection. All were asymptomatic when tested.
The report also estimates substantial losses from the LGBTQ wage gap.
It puts Japan’s total earned income at about $1.81 trillion, of which LGBTQ workers account for an estimated $175 billion, or 9.7 percent. Applying a wage gap of 7 to 15 percent, a range the report says is supported by OECD analysis, yields an estimated $12.3 billion to $26.3 billion in lost wages annually. Japanese research cited in the report also points to economic disparities among transgender workers, who are disproportionately represented in non-regular employment and lower-income groups.
“Public attitudes and many leading companies have moved considerably, but national frameworks and everyday workplace experience have not yet caught up. That creates both a challenge and an opportunity,” said Open for Business CEO Ken Janssens. “Japan’s population is projected to fall from roughly 125 million in 2020 to fewer than 87 million by 2070, while its working-age population is already contracting. The country ranks 14th globally for talent appeal but 55th for talent readiness, according to the report. In that context, Japan simply does not have talent to waste. Every worker who is less healthy, less productive, pushed into lower-paid work or unable to participate fully because of discrimination represents a cost that becomes harder to absorb as the labour force shrinks.”
Janssens further told the Washington Blade that the report’s ultimate message is that LGBTQ inclusion is a question of fairness, but in Japan, it is increasingly a question of economic resilience as well. The foundations for further progress are already there. The challenge now is to convert visible corporate leadership and social momentum into consistent practice and clearer protections.
Akira Nishiyama, a spokesperson for the Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation, told the Blade that Japan’s business sector has pushed for stronger legal protections for sexual and gender minorities.
In 2017, the Japan Business Federation, known as Keidanren, announced a policy calling for nondiscrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Its chairperson also stressed the importance of legislation explicitly prohibiting such discrimination in 2023.
Nishiyama added Japan’s laws addressing workplace power harassment cover harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity, outing someone without their consent, and forcing or pressuring someone to disclose or conceal their identity. Employers and local governments are required to take measures to prevent such harassment.
“While such legal frameworks and social momentum continue to advance, a law prohibiting discrimination based on SOGI has still not been enacted,” said Nishiyama. “In other words, legal measures to address discriminatory treatment, such as discriminatory hiring refusals, unreasonable transfers, and coerced resignations, are still insufficient. When legislations are needed to bridge this gap, I believe that initiatives promoted by the business sectors as well as the issuance of clear policies aimed at prohibiting discrimination, will serve as one of the major driving forces in this effort.”
Makiko Terahara, co-representative and leader of the business collaboration team at Marriage for All Japan, told the Blade that the figures are estimates and that the report does not claim legal reform alone would eliminate the economic losses.
“But the connection is real. Without marriage, same-sex couples have no spousal status for inheritance, tax, social security or medical decision-making. Without anti-discrimination legislation, employees have no clear legal remedy. This insecurity drives the concealment, stress and wage gaps that the report quantifies. So yes, I believe stronger legal protections would have a measurable impact on health, retention and Japan’s ability to attract talent,” she said.
Terahara also noted to the Blade the report cites a study finding that living in a municipality with a partnership system was not associated with better mental health. She said symbolic recognition without legal rights is not enough.
“The report confirms that Japanese society and business are already ahead of national law,” said Terahara. “Public opinion and leading companies have moved, and the remaining gap is in legislation. The report shows that marriage equality is not only a human rights issue but also an economic one, and that the cost of inaction is being paid now.”
The Open for Business report can be read here.
Afghanistan
ICC unseals arrest warrants for Taliban officials accused of persecuting LGBTQ people, women
‘For LGBTIQ+ people, this matters enormously’
The International Criminal Court this week unsealed arrest warrants for four Taliban officials in Afghanistan accused of targeting LGBTQ people, women, and others who defy the group’s strict gender norms.
The warrants the ICC unsealed on Oct. 5 are for Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader, and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani. The ICC also unsealed warrants for Education Minister Habibullah Agda and Higher Education Minister Neda Mohammad Nadim.
The ICC last year announced warrants for Akhundzada and Haqqani, as the Washington Blade previously reported.
“In the warrants of arrest, the (Pre-Trial) Chamber (II), in line with current developments in international law, found that the definition of ‘gender’ in the Rome Statute necessitates an interpretation that goes beyond a purely biological conception of sex,” reads the ICC’s Oct. 5 announcement. “It considered that it requires acknowledging the socially constructed roles, behaviors, expectations, and hierarchies traditionally associated with individuals on the basis of their sex. The Chamber considered that these societal constructs, commonly referred to as ‘gender norms,’ form part of the contextual lens through which acts amounting to gender-based persecution under article 7(1)(h) must be assessed.”
“It found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the four suspects are criminally responsible for having ordered, induced or solicited the crime against humanity of persecution, under article 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute, on gender grounds against girls, women, and other persons non-conforming with the Taliban’s policy on gender, gender identity or expression; and on political grounds against persons perceived as ‘allies of girls and women,’” it adds. “These crimes are believed to have been committed on the territory of Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power on Aug. 15, 2021, and have continued until at least Jan. 20, 2025.”
The Rome Statute established the ICC, which is in the Dutch city of The Hague, in 2002 after 60 countries ratified it.
The U.S. is among the countries that do not recognize the ICC. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday announced U.S. sanctions against the ICC, which he described as a “rogue court.”
Then-ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan in January 2025 announced a request for warrants against Taliban officials over their treatment of women and other groups since they regained control of Afghanistan in 2021. It marked the first time the ICC specifically named LGBTQ people as victims in a gender persecution case before it.
A report that Outright International released in 2023 notes Taliban officials have systematically targeted LGBTQ people — especially gay men and transgender women.
Taliban officials have subjected them to physical and sexual assault as well as arbitrary detention. The Outright International report also notes Taliban authorities have carried out public floggings for alleged same-sex sexual relations, and have collected intelligence on LGBTQ activists and community members.
Artemis Akbary, executive director of the Afghanistan LGBTIQ Organization, on Oct. 5 described the additional arrest warrants as “huge.”
“For LGBTIQ+ people, this matters enormously,” he said. “It strengthens the understanding that gender persecution can also capture persecution based on non-conformity with imposed gender roles, identities, and expressions.”
“This is an important development for accountability in Afghanistan, and potentially far beyond it,” added Akbary.
‘Governments that attack LGBTQ+ rights learn from each other’
Horror genre has evolved into space to explore queer identity
Annie Andrews denounces trans athletes after Trump targets her
On Republican Long Island, gay Democrat Chris Gallant bets on public service over politics
Report: LGBTQ exclusion costs Japanese economy billions a year
Bet Mishpachah participates in D.C. Oct. 7 commemoration ceremony
Man charged in Mall of America shooting plot inspired by Pulse massacre: report
ICC unseals arrest warrants for Taliban officials accused of persecuting LGBTQ people, women
Physician: addiction doesn’t always look the way you think it does
Calendar: October 9-15
-
District of Columbia5 days agoBet Mishpachah participates in D.C. Oct. 7 commemoration ceremony
-
National5 days ago
Man charged in Mall of America shooting plot inspired by Pulse massacre: report
-
Afghanistan4 days ago
ICC unseals arrest warrants for Taliban officials accused of persecuting LGBTQ people, women
-
District of Columbia4 days ago
Physician: addiction doesn’t always look the way you think it does
