KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban has publicly flogged 20 people, including five women, on various charges in eastern Khost and Parwan provinces, the group’s Supreme Court announced Monday.
In Khost province, 18 individuals—four of them women—were lashed on Sunday, accused of “sodomy” and “illicit relationships,” according to a court statement. Each received 39 lashes in front of local authorities and the public and was sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to seven years.
In a separate case in Parwan province, a man and a woman were publicly flogged for “adultery” on the same day. Both received 39 lashes and were sentenced to six years in prison, the court said.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban has made corporal punishment a central element of its justice system, publicly lashing dozens of individuals—including women and LGBTQ+ people—across Afghanistan.
The group has escalated its use of public floggings in recent months. In February alone, at least 60 people, including 12 women, have been publicly whipped. The Taliban has also carried out at least six public executions in recent years.
The United Nations and human rights organizations have repeatedly condemned the Taliban’s use of corporal punishment, calling it a violation of international human rights law and urging an immediate halt to the practice.
However, the Taliban has defended the punishments, insisting they are enforcing Sharia law. The group accuses critics of either misunderstanding Islamic law or harboring biases against Islam.
