Taliban Flogs 42 People In Jawzjan, Farah & Balkh

In a statement on Saturday, April 18, the court said the punishments were carried out in Bala Buluk district.

In previous statements, the court often announced prison sentences alongside flogging, but this time only corporal punishment was mentioned.

Despite opposition from international organisations to torture and corporal punishment, the Taliban have continued to carry out public floggings.

The group describes such punishments for those convicted by its courts as the enforcement of “Islamic law”.

Richard Lindsay, sharing a post of Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, on social platform X said that human rights must be upheld for all Afghan citizens.

Lindsay wrote that the concerns raised by UN experts about the decree are serious.

UN experts say Decree No. 12, issued by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, contradicts Afghanistan’s international obligations on human rights, judicial independence and fair trials.

The decree, titled “Criminal Principles for Courts”, was signed in early January and came into force days later.

Richard Bennett had earlier said on X that the decree could further erode human rights protections in Afghanistan and should therefore be withdrawn.

UN experts say the text was issued without a clear legislative process, makes no reference to Afghanistan’s constitution, and lacks transparency about how it was approved.

Much of the concern centers on provisions relating to women.

According to UN experts, Article 32 of the decree states that violence against women is punishable only if it results in fractures, wounds or visible bruising. Even then, the woman must prove her claim in court, and punishment for the husband is limited to 15 days in prison.

Article 34 allows a husband to punish his wife if she leaves home without his permission or without what the text calls a “religious justification”. It also provides for up to three months’ imprisonment for her relatives if they fail to return her to her husband following a court order.

The decree has faced widespread criticism since its early weeks.

Human rights organisations say it legitimises violence against women and children and criminalises criticism of Taliban leadership and policies.

In response, the Taliban’s justice ministry has said that opposing the group’s laws amounts to opposing Islamic law and is considered a crime.

In separate statements on Thursday, April 16, the court said the punishments were carried out in Shakardara district of Kabul and Dara-i Noor district of Nangarhar.

According to the statement, one woman in Nangarhar was flogged in public in the presence of local officials and residents.

The individuals each received 39 lashes and were sentenced to one year and six months of enforced imprisonment.

Since late March, the Taliban have flogged at least 107 people across Afghanistan on various charges.

Despite opposition from international organisations to corporal punishment and the torture of detainees, the Taliban have continued to carry out public floggings.

The experts said the Taliban’s criminal procedure code for courts, known as “Decree No. 12”, is inconsistent with Afghanistan’s international obligations.

In the letter, addressed to Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s foreign minister, they stressed that parts of the regulations do not align with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention Against Torture and other human rights treaties.

The experts called for the immediate revision of the regulations and urged the Taliban to respect the rights of all individuals under their control.

According to the report, prepared with researchers from the Samuel Hall institute and based on data from 700 returnee women in Herat, Nangarhar and Kabul, Afghan women, despite having work experience and technical skills, face an almost complete collapse of job opportunities after returning.

The study shows that more than 40 precent of returnee women have skills they are unable to use, including technical, vocational and digital skills.

In addition, more than three-quarters of women who were employed in Iran and nearly two-thirds of those working in Pakistan have become unemployed after returning to Afghanistan.

The report stresses that the main barriers facing returnee women are restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women’s employment and movement, limited access to capital and tools, and a lack of market opportunities.

More than three-quarters of these women have no tools or capital to start a business.

According to the report, more than 5.5 million Afghans have returned from Iran and Pakistan since 2023, placing unprecedented pressure on the local economy.

Women and girls made up more than a quarter of returnees from Iran and nearly half of those from Pakistan in 2025, and a new wave of women returning from Iran is expected due to the Middle East conflict.

Susan Ferguson, the UN special representative for women in Afghanistan, stressed the need to support women’s economic participation, saying: "Afghan returnee women arrive in extremely difficult conditions, often without capital or support networks. Some return with experience and skills, while others start from scratch, but all need opportunities and access to livelihoods and services to build a dignified life."

UN Women has called for increased investment in livelihood tools and assets for returnee women, targeted support for sectors with demand and sustainability such as small-scale livestock, food processing and tailoring, expanded technical training and guidance to adapt to market conditions, and increased grant support.