KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban publicly flogged 11 people, including two women, in Takhar and Faryab provinces on Sunday, as the group continues to intensify the use of corporal punishment across Afghanistan.
According to a statement from the Taliban Supreme Court, seven individuals were publicly lashed in Yanqi Qala district of Takhar province on charges of “sodomy, theft, and gambling.” Each of the seven received up to 39 lashes and prison terms ranging from one year to one and a half years, the court said.
In a separate incident in Gurziwan district of Faryab province, four individuals, including two women, were publicly flogged for “illicit relationships and adultery.” Each of the four received 25 lashes and a one-year prison term, the court said.
Public flogging has become increasingly common in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021. Human rights organizations have documented hundreds of cases in recent months, targeting women, children, and LGBTQ+ individuals, as well as men accused of theft, drug-related offenses, and acts the Taliban deem “immoral.”
A recent report by the UN recorded at least 215 cases of public corporal punishment between August 1 and October 31, including 42 women, two girls, and one boy, punished for a range of alleged offenses.
UN experts and rights groups have strongly condemned the practice, describing it as “cruel, inhuman and degrading,” and have called on the Taliban to halt the use of such punishments. The Taliban, however, maintain that these actions are a form of enforcing Sharia law and accuse critics of opposing Islamic principles.
