KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban has publicly flogged at least 15 people, including two women, in several provinces across Afghanistan over the past two days, marking a sharp rise in the use of corporal punishment.
The Taliban’s Supreme Court announced the floggings in a series of statements, saying the punishments were approved by the regime’s highest court and carried out in front of local authorities and residents.
In Laghman province, four people – including a woman – were lashed between 30 and 39 times on Monday for allegedly running away from home and theft. They were also sentenced to between one and three years in prison.
In Ghazni province, the Taliban flogged two individuals on Monday in Moqor district. One was punished for an “illicit relationship” and the other for “theft.” Both received 39 lashes. The first was sentenced to six months in prison, while the second was given a five-year term.
In Paktia’s Ahmad Abad district, three individuals were flogged 35 times for “sodomy and theft,” according to the court.
In the capital Kabul, the Taliban flogged four individuals accused of trading narcotic pills and hashish. They were given 10 to 20 lashes and sentenced to nine months in prison.
In Badakhshan province, a woman was lashed 39 times in Yaftal district on Sunday after being accused of adultery. The punishment was also carried out in public following court approval.
The Taliban has intensified the use of corporal punishments in recent months, despite international condemnation. Since the beginning of May, at least 77 people — many of them women — have been publicly flogged across Afghanistan, according to Taliban announcements.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) recorded 180 cases of public flogging in the first three months of 2025, including three girls among those punished.
In recent years, the Taliban has also carried out at least ten public executions for murder.
The group defends these punishments, saying they are based on their interpretation of Islamic law. They accuse international critics of opposing Islam and disrespecting their religious practices.
