We are Rainbow Afghanistan — a nonprofit organization founded to defend the rights, dignity, and lives of members of Afghanistan’s LGBTIQ+ community. Our emergence stems from decades of structural discrimination, criminalizing laws, and deeply rooted cultural and traditional norms that have made it extremely difficult for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, non-binary, and queer people to live freely and safely in Afghanistan. In a context where education about gender and sexuality was severely limited and religious and traditional ideologies dominated public discourse—fostering denial and hatred—many members of the LGBTIQ+ community were forced to conceal their identities. Yet concealment did not remove the roots of violence: individuals, particularly those whose gender identity was visible, remained vulnerable to multiple forms of abuse. One of the most tragic manifestations of this violence is the practice known as Bacha Bazi — the sexual exploitation of boys and adolescents — which reflects the deep patriarchy and systemic exploitation entrenched in Afghan society. This practice further increases the vulnerability of the LGBTIQ+ community. The return of the Taliban to power on 15 August 2021 drastically curtailed freedoms and unleashed a renewed wave of violence and persecution against LGBTIQ+ individuals. Identification, arbitrary detention, torture, sexual assault, and even public executions became grim realities, forcing many LGBTIQ+ Afghans to flee, hide, or entirely erase or suppress their identities. Meanwhile, international attention and media coverage were often insufficient, compelling us to raise our voices and begin our organized struggle against oppression and discrimination after years of silence. In response to this crisis, a group of exiled Afghan LGBTIQ+ activists—many of whom had themselves experienced persecution or witnessed the torture and abuse of loved ones—decided to transform exile into a platform for organized resistance, advocacy, and solidarity. In May 2022, in Bremen, Germany, Rainbow Afghanistan was founded under the slogan “We Will Not Go Back” and the global hashtag #SaveAfghanLGBTIQ. We committed to resisting oppression and discrimination, documenting the suffering of our community, engaging with international institutions, and developing urgent solutions for the protection and safe relocation of those at risk. Between 2022 and 2025, through cooperation with a network of civil society organizations, humanitarian institutions, and international allies, we organized emergency protection and relocation efforts that helped transfer hundreds of LGBTIQ+ Afghans from high-risk areas to safer destinations. We also provided psychological, legal, and advisory support to dozens of Afghan LGBTIQ+ refugees who had sought safety in Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey—efforts that in many cases made the difference between life and death. On 5 June 2025, after years of sustained work and organization, Rainbow Afghanistan was officially registered as a nonprofit organization in Berlin, Germany. Today, we operate as a unified community of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, intersex, and queer individuals dedicated to defending fundamental human rights against discrimination and violence—both for those still living inside Afghanistan and for refugees and migrants across neighboring countries and Europe. We are firmly committed to documenting human rights violations without restriction, pressuring international institutions and governments for concrete action, and establishing safe pathways for assistance and protection. At the same time, we humbly recognize the challenges ahead—but we believe that through global solidarity, inter-organizational collaboration, and the active participation of our members, we can help shape a more humane and just future for all.