Gay Afghans facing deportation from UK told ‘pretend to be straight’ Gay Afghans being deported to their home country where homosexuality is illegal are being told to pretend to be straight, in new guidelines issued by the UK government. The document, dated January 2017, sets out potential risks homosexual people face in their countries of origin, and what laws they could be prosecuted under. It suggests lesbians and gay men “with what may be seen as feminine traits” would be at risk if forced to return, but adds the Afghan government has not prosecuted for homosexuality recently. It says a gay person facing deportation would likely find refuge in Kabul, which does not face the threat of the Taliban. “While space for being openly gay is limited, subject to individual factors, a practising gay man who, on return to Kabul, would not attract or seek to cause public outrage, would not face a real risk of persecution,” the document says.