UK Government tells deported Afghans to ‘pretend to be straight’
The UK Government has told gay Afghans seeking asylum in the UK to “pretend to be straight” if deported back home.
The message comes from new British guidelines for handling asylum applications in a new document released by the UK Home Office, The Guardian reports.
The document states the Home Office believes it’s possible for gay Afghans to live safely in Kabul, despite homosexuality being illegal in the country.
It also highlights risks to LGBT Afghans from their own families to Afghan laws as well as Taliban insurgents.
It reads, “In the absence of other risk factors, it may be a safe and viable option for a gay man to relocate to Kabul.”
Senior researcher at the Human Rights Watch, Heather Barr, has slammed the guidelines, calling them “unfair.”
“The Home Office’s approach seems to be to tell asylum seekers, ‘Pretend you’re straight, move to Kabul and best of luck.'”
“Living a life where you are forced to lie everyday about a key part of your identity, and live in constant fear of being found out and harassed, prosecuted or attacked, is exactly the kind of persecution asylum laws are supposed to prevent.”
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