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Afghanistan
What little tourism existed in Afghanistan disappeared in the 1970s, and while, as in other Middle Eastern countries, it may still be possible to find public baths where gay contacts may be made, or to find native men willing to engage in sexual trysts, the extreme policies towards gays under the receent Taliban regime, together with the conflicts which have plagued the region for the last 30 years make it far too dangerous a travel destination for any member of the GLBT community. Afghanistan is an ancient country, and its strategic position on the main overland trade route between China and the West made it a frequent target for invasions. The capital city of Kabul is believed to have been founded by Aryan-Vedic tribes which invaded and settled Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India circa 2000 BCE. Darius the Great conquered most of the country to add to the Persian Empire, and revolts among the Afghan people were frequent and bloody. Alexander the Great met the same difficulties when he invaded and conquered Afghanistan in 329 BCE. Following the Macedonian king's death, much of Afghanistan remained part of the Greco-Buddhist kingdom of Bactria. For 700 years afterwards, the country alternated between Parthian, Kushan, and Greco-Bactrian rule, before being invaded in 400 CE by White Huns who left the country in ruins. The country was reconquered in 550 CE by Persia, through which Islam was introduced in 652. By 952, the country was entirely Muslim. Genghis Khan invaded the country in 1219, destroying irrigation canals and turning much of its fertile land into permanent deserts. The country was conquered again in 1340 by Khan's descendant, Tamerlane, and again in 1504 by the Moghul emperor of India, Babur. The modern state of Afghanistan was established after a successful uprising against the Moghuls in 1747. Attempts by the British to establish a puppet monarchy and add Afghanistan to their empire led to war in 1839-1842 resulting in the massacre of the British occupying force of over 16,000. The British re-invaded in 1878, but withdrew upon the accession of Abdur al-Rahman to the throne, though they continued to handle Afghanistan's foreign affairs and protect it from Russian expansionary interests. A third conflict with the British in 1921 led to the country's full independence. After the US refused Afghanistan's requests to help modernize its army in 1954, the country began a close association with the Soviet Union. In 1973 members of the Afghan Communist Party helped former Prime Minister Douad Khan overthrow the government and abolish the monarchy. Five years later Douad was assassinated and a Communist regime established. The following year, Soviet troops invaded to help the regime deal with the Mujahiden, an Islamic resistance movement. Over 40,000 Soviet soldiers were killed in the ten-year conflict. As the Soviet economy collapsed along with its Communist goverment, the last Soviet troops withdrew, allegedly because of the Afghan government's refusal to pay their commander, who had not been paid by his own government in months. A moderate government under former university professor Burhannudin Rabbani was elected in 1992. Almost immediately, a resistance movement, the Taliban, was formed. By 1996 the Taliban had gained control of most of the country, and new laws based on very narrow and literal interpretations of Islamic law appeared. Women, who had previously enjoyed a high status in Afghan society, could no longer work outside the home, nor appear in public without completely covering their faces and bodies. Those found with painted nails had their fingers cut off, while those wearing makeup or walking unescorted by a male relation were beaten. Any woman even suspected of immoral conduct would be beheaded in public executions held in soccer stadiums. Reports are that even after the Taliban's overthrow following recent US military actions in Afghanistan, these practices and conditions for women still persist in some areas. Of particular note is the Taliban's policy towards gay men. Despite a long tradition of male love in Islamic culture, as evidenced by the poetry of Abu Nuwas, the many Afghan rulers such as Abdur Al-Rahman who were known to be lovers of young men, and the long-standing tradition of Pashtuns keeping young male companions, or ashnas (a custom similar to that of the eromenos of ancient Greece), the Taliban adopted a zero tolerance policy towards homosexuals. Men suspected of being gay were made to lie upon the ground as a bulldozer pushed a wall down on them. If they survived, they were considered redeemed and set free. While gays, lesbians, and transgendered persons are still persecuted and discriminated against in many countries, Afghanistan currently remains the most dangerous country for those who identify as gay. Currently, the United States is engaged in an occupation of Afghanistan, following punitive military action against the Taliban in retaliation for its harboring of terrorist leader Osama bin Ladin, and thus complicity in the terrorist attacks of 11 September. (Critics of these actions have claimed an ulterior motive, namely that of securing an oil pipeline route through the country, something with which the Taliban had refused to cooperate.) Numerous resistance movements, most notably the pro-Rabbani Northern Alliance, have succeeded in overthrowing the Taliban with US assistance, though violence and fighting continue as an interim government struggles to maintain order . Links: Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan Rabbani Government of Afghanistan
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