Taliban, ISIS-K Responsible For Targeted Killings, Says US State Department

Speaking to Afghanistan International on Tuesday, Samar said 15 August 2021 was “the darkest day” for the people of Afghanistan and for herself personally. She praised the resilience of Afghan women, noting that despite severe restrictions and pressure, many continue to stand firm.

Samar expressed hope that women’s resistance will persist, emphasising that the struggle is not solely a women’s issue but one that affects the fate of 40 million people, particularly children.

She sharply criticised pro-Taliban lobbying, accusing such efforts of attempting to mislead the public into believing the group had changed. The past four years, she said, have proved otherwise, with the Taliban continuing policies such as closing both girls’ and boys’ schools in areas under their control, practices dating back two decades.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 and have since imposed sweeping restrictions, particularly on women and girls, depriving them of basic rights including education, employment, and freedom of movement.

In a statement issued on 11 August, the UN said the Taliban have introduced a series of measures limiting the rights of women and girls, with “devastating” consequences. It reported that more than 78 percent of Afghan women are neither in education nor employed, making it increasingly difficult for them to find work.

The UN warned that this exclusion means nearly half of Afghanistan’s potential workforce is making no significant contribution to the economy, compounding the crisis in a country already facing economic collapse.

Due to women’s restricted access to healthcare, maternal mortality is projected to rise by 50 percent by 2026, the UN said, attributing the increase largely to the Taliban’s discriminatory policies.

It also reported an increase in child marriage and growing levels of violence against women, both at home and in public.

Afghan women have not only been excluded from public life but, according to the UN, 62 percent say they have no role in decision-making even within their own households.

In a statement on 11 August, ministry spokespersons said the man, identified as Jamshid, a resident of Balkh, was tracked down and detained by morality police.

Obaidullah Haqqani, head of the ministry’s directorate in Balkh, alleged that the suspect had made “contradictory remarks on social media about the existence of God and the Battle of Uhud, which hurt people’s religious sentiments.”

The case has been referred to Taliban courts for “Sharia-based” proceedings, according to the ministry.

The Taliban have previously detained multiple people on similar charges. In the most recent case, a teacher in Paktika province was arrested for allegedly “insulting the Prophet of Islam” and later sentenced to death by a Taliban court.

In its weekly report released Saturday, the court said the latest floggings took place in Maidan Wardak, Kabul, Zabul, Kapisa, Baghlan and Kunduz provinces. It did not provide details about the identities of those punished or the specific charges against them.

Separate court statements earlier in the week said 14 people, including one woman, were publicly punished in Kabul and Zabul on charges of selling and trafficking alcohol, narcotic pills and engaging in extramarital relationships.

The Taliban also said 10 people were flogged in Kabul and Maidan Wardak for theft and drug offences, while eight others were punished in Kabul and Kapisa for narcotics trafficking.

According to the Supreme Court’s figures, 81 people have been publicly flogged across Afghanistan over the past month.

Despite condemnation from international human rights organisations, which classify corporal punishment as torture, the Taliban continues to carry out public floggings, saying they are in accordance with its interpretation of Islam.

Nadia (name changed), a resident of Kabul’s District 4, said Thursday that running a beauty salon from her home had been her family’s sole source of income for more than two years.

“I am the sole breadwinner of my family. I pay the rent, buy food, and cover my children’s expenses,” she said. “After the Taliban shut down beauty salons in the city, I moved my work home, but now they say even working from home is haram and I must stop.”

According to Nadia, Taliban enforcers threatened to imprison her husband if she continued. The pressure, she said, has sparked domestic violence. “My husband was terrified. He said we had to go back to our native province. But our financial situation is so bad, I refused. He became angry, took our daughters to the village, and threatened to divorce me.”

The Taliban ordered the nationwide closure of women-run beauty salons in July 2023, a move that the Chamber of Commerce and Industries says left around 60,000 women jobless. Some women in Kabul and other provinces continued operating discreetly from their homes, but the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has barred such work, even inside private residences.

Humaira, a resident of the Ahmad Shah Baba area, said Taliban morality officers entered her home, smashed her salon equipment, and warned her to stop working.

“We live in a rented house, and my husband is sick. If I don’t work, who will pay the rent and buy milk for my baby?” she asked.

Earlier reports from Sar-e-Pul province indicated that Taliban forces had conducted house-to-house inspections to close down in-home salons operated by women.