Taliban Publicly Flogs Woman In Khost Province
The Taliban Supreme Court says a woman was publicly flogged with 39 lashes in Khost province on Wednesday, accused of “running away from home”, and sentenced to two years in prison.
The Taliban Supreme Court says a woman was publicly flogged with 39 lashes in Khost province on Wednesday, accused of “running away from home”, and sentenced to two years in prison.
The Taliban had earlier said that in 2025 they executed at least six people and flogged 1,118 others across Afghanistan on various charges.
The group describes the flogging of those convicted by its courts as the implementation of “Islamic Sharia”.
Despite strong opposition from international organisations to corporal punishment and torture, the Taliban have continued to carry out public floggings.
Human rights groups say the Taliban’s judicial system is non-standard and that defendants are denied basic fair trial rights, including access to legal representation.
The Taliban Supreme Court says 19 people, including one woman, have been flogged in Balkh, Nimroz and Ghor on various charges, continuing public corporal punishment despite international criticism.
According to Taliban statements, one man in Shortepa district of Balkh province was publicly flogged 30 lashes on charges of same-sex relations.
The Taliban’s primary court in Nimroz province also punished 17 people on Thursday on charges including “assaulting father”, illicit relations, theft and same-sex relations.
Those convicted were sentenced to between five months and eight years in prison and received between 15 and 39 lashes.
At the same time, a Taliban primary court in Saghar district of Ghor province flogged a woman 10 lashes on Thursday on charges of “moral corruption.”
Despite opposition from international organisations to torture and corporal punishment, the Taliban have continued to flog individuals in public. The group describes such punishments, imposed by its courts, as the implementation of “Islamic Sharia”.
The Rawadari human rights organisation said in a report on March 25 that the Taliban had carried out cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments over the past year, including issuing qisas sentences for six people, stoning one woman and flogging 857 individuals.
It also said that during the same period, 611 people, including 48 women and 35 children, were deliberately and mysteriously killed or injured by the Taliban and unidentified individuals.
According to the report, the victims were mainly former government employees, protesters, civil society and human rights activists, community elders and people accused by the Taliban of cooperating with opposition groups.
The Taliban’s Supreme Court said on Sunday it had flogged six people, including two women, in Jawzjan province and sentenced them to prison. Some of those punished were accused of “insulting” Taliban officials.
Under Afghanistan’s previous government, criticism or insults directed at officials did not carry criminal penalties. Since returning to power, however, the Taliban, similar to Iran, have detained and punished citizens on charges of insulting officials.
In a statement, the Taliban’s Supreme Court did not specify what type of remarks led to the convictions or floggings. The court has also punished individuals with flogging and prison sentences for extramarital relations and for breaking the fast during Ramadan.
The court has imposed lengthy prison terms for extramarital relations. In Balkh and Jawzjan provinces, Taliban courts have sentenced accused men and women to five and six years in prison respectively.
The human rights organisation Rawadari said in a report on Thursday that the Taliban carried out “cruel, inhuman and degrading” punishments over the past year, including issuing qisas (retribution) sentences for six people, stoning a woman, and flogging 857 individuals.
Despite opposition from international organisations to torture and corporal punishment, the Taliban have continued to carry out public floggings. The group describes such punishments, imposed by courts under its control, as enforcement of “Islamic law”.
Representatives of Russia and Qatar, speaking at a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, made no reference to widespread human rights violations or the situation of women in Afghanistan, unlike several other countries.
Russia’s representative focused on the release of Afghanistan’s frozen assets and called for an end to what he described as double standards.
He said Moscow was closely monitoring developments in Afghanistan and called for the inclusion of all groups in the country’s governance process.
The Russian envoy also said Afghan assets held in Western countries should be released and urged the international community to act independently and impartially.
Qatar’s representative, without addressing the situation of women under the Taliban, called for constructive dialogue between the international community and the group.
The Qatari envoy said Afghanistan is facing complex challenges, including climate change, poverty, food insecurity and sanctions.
She described constructive engagement between the international community and Afghanistan as the only viable path to resolving challenges and promoting peace and stability.
Qatar’s representative also called for Afghanistan’s reintegration into the international community.
At the opening of the same session, Volker Türk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said Afghanistan had become a graveyard for human rights.
Taliban courts flogged 40 people in Kabul and Faryab province on various charges, according to statements from the group’s judicial authorities.
Primary courts in Kabul sentenced 37 people to between 10 and 39 lashes on charges including the sale and trafficking of narcotic tablets, crystal meth, alcohol, cannabis and theft. They were also given prison terms ranging from seven months to three years.
In Shirin Tagab district of Faryab province, three people were publicly flogged with 39 lashes each on charges of producing, selling and drinking alcohol, the Taliban Supreme Court said in a statement issued Monday, February 2. The court said each of them was also sentenced to two years in prison.
Despite repeated calls from international and human rights organisations to abolish corporal punishment and uphold the dignity of defendants, the Taliban has continued the practice of public floggings.
Taliban authorities say flogging is part of their interpretation of Islamic law within the judicial system.
The development comes as the Taliban’s new penal code outlines punishments based in part on an individual’s social status. Under the code, if a religious scholar commits an offence, the response is limited to advice.
By contrast, the same offence committed by someone described as middle class is punishable by imprisonment, while those from lower social classes may face corporal punishment in addition to prison terms.
The Taliban’s Supreme Court said Monday that at least 36 people were publicly flogged in Khost province in a single day.
According to a court statement, those punished received between 10 and 39 lashes and were also sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to two years. A primary court in Khost carried out the punishments in public on charges including the buying and selling of narcotics, extramarital relations and sexual relations between men.
On January 23, the Supreme Court said courts under its authority had flogged at least 31 people across the country over the previous week on various charges. Those punishments took place in Kabul, Faryab, Balkh, Nangarhar and Herat provinces.
The Taliban authorities have previously said that in 2025 they executed at least six people and flogged 1,118 others on various charges across Afghanistan.
The Taliban describes the flogging of individuals found guilty by its courts as the implementation of Islamic Sharia law.
Despite strong opposition from international organisations to corporal punishment and the mistreatment of detainees, the group has continued to carry out public floggings.
Human rights organisations say the Taliban’s judicial system falls short of international standards and that defendants are denied basic fair trial guarantees, including access to a defence lawyer.
The Taliban has also recently published a document titled “Penal Procedure Regulations of the Courts”, which sets out procedures based on the group’s strict interpretation of Islamic law.
