Taliban Forces Shutdown Of LGBTQ+ Platform "queer.af" On Mastodon, Takes Administrator By Surprise

The Taliban, which has been in control of Afghanistan since 2021, has shut down the LGBTQ-oriented “queer.af” Mastodon instance. The instance’s domain, “.af,” is administered by the Afghan government, leading to its abrupt termination.

What Happened: Erin Shepherd, the instance’s administrator, and a prominent ActivityPub developer, had planned to shut down the platform in April. However, the early termination came as a surprise, reported The Verge (via 404 media). 

The Afghanistan Ministry of Communications and IT sent an email to Shepherd, stating that the queer.af domain had been suspended, and all associated websites or emails “will cease working shortly.”

Shepherd also noted that all .af domains acquired through the "Gandi" domain registrar had been shut down. Internet Archive captures indicate that as early as October 2020, the site ceased accepting new registrations for the domain extension, with renewals disabled by November of the last year, the report noted. 

As per the report, using country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) outside their designated countries could have significant implications. This practice can have financial benefits for smaller nations like Tuvalu, which capitalized on its “.tv” ccTLD to fund its entry into the UN. 

In contrast, it can also have potential negative consequences, as seen when Ukraine requested ICANN to disable the Russia-administered “.ru” extension following Russia’s invasion in 2022. 

Although ICANN rejected the request, domain providers like Namecheap discontinued services for customers using the extension, and Reddit blocked links containing it. 

The report suggests opting for generic TLDs such as “.com” or “.net,” as a safer choice, as they have no specific association with a country or organization.

See Also: Taliban To Participate In China’s Belt And Road Forum, Strengthening Relations And Raising Eyebrows

Why It Matters: The Taliban’s control over Afghanistan has led to several controversial decisions. 

Last year, a report revealed that since Taliban seized control of the country, there has been a concerning increase in the number of women attempting or succeeding in taking their own lives.

The administration has closed universities and high schools to female students in Afghanistan. Moreover, employing women in all foreign and domestic NGOs was also suspended. 

In January 2023, it was reported that the Taliban publicly flogged nine people convicted of robbery and sodomy in Kandahar and also chopped off the hands of at least four men. 

Meanwhile, the Taliban-appointed defense minister, Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, has accused the U.S. of obstructing Afghanistan’s international recognition. He urged countries not under U.S. pressure to recognize Afghanistan.

The same year, a senior Taliban leader, Anas Haqqani, publicly endorsed Twitter, now rebranded as X, over its new competitor, Meta.’s Threads. Haqqani praised Twitter for its freedom of speech and public credibility, criticizing Meta’s content policy, which includes a ban on support or praise for terrorist or hate groups.

Photo Courtesy: Getmilitaryphotos On Shutterstock.com

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