Afghan woman and trans friend arrested by Taliban

Concerns are growing for Maryam Ravish and Maeve Alcina Pieescu, who were detained before a flight to Iran last week

- ARPAN RAI

The Taliban reportedly detained at least two members of the LGBT+ community in Afghanistan after finding out that they were on their way to Iran.

Maryam Ravish, 19, and Maeve Alcina Pieescu, 23, a trans person, were taken away from the Kabul airport last Thursday as they were boarding their morning flight to Tehran, Ms Ravish’s same-sex partner Parwen Hussaini told The Independent on Wednesday.

Ms Ravish and Ms Hussaini, who have been in a relationship for nearly four years, were looking to escape to Iran to live away from the Taliban’s scrutiny, she said. The escape was going to be documented by their friend Maeve Alcina Pieescu.

The three of them were set to leave on a Mahan Air flight, scheduled to depart Kabul at 10.35am and land in Tehran by 1pm.

Since the Taliban government requires women to be accompanied by a male chaperone, they had to take along a travel agent. The whereabouts of the travel agent are not immediately clear.