KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban publicly flogged a man in Feroz Nakhchir district, Samangan province, after convicting him of theft, the Taliban’s Supreme Court announced on Thursday.
According to the court’s statement, the man was sentenced to 39 lashes and one year in prison by a local Taliban court, a ruling later upheld by the Supreme Court.
The incident is part of a broader escalation in the Taliban’s use of corporal punishment, with reports indicating that at least 100 people, including women, have been publicly flogged across Afghanistan in the past month.
Over the past week alone, the Taliban have publicly flogged 36 people, including nine women, in various provinces. According to an Amu analysis of Taliban court reports, these punishments were carried out from February 20 to 27 in at least eight provinces, including Khost, Faryab, Kabul, Kapisa, Parwan, Herat, Ghazni and Bamiyan.
The individuals were punished for offenses such as “moral misconduct,” theft, and running away from home.”
Statistics on Taliban Public Floggings (Feb. 20-27):
36 people flogged
9 women among them
Floggings carried out in 8 provinces
Charges: Theft, moral misconduct, fleeing home
Despite repeated calls from the United Nations and human rights organizations to end corporal punishment, the Taliban have not only continued but intensified these punishments, particularly against women.
Human rights activists argue that the Taliban’s public floggings are a continuation of their brutal justice system from the 1990s, using Sharia law as a political tool to maintain control.
“The Taliban use religion as a tool for political survival,” said Ahmad Wais Rahimi, a human rights activist. “These floggings violate fundamental human rights and distort the image of Islam on the global stage.”
Some Afghan citizens say they feel powerless under the Taliban’s justice system, which they view as oppressive and inhumane.
“The Taliban punish men and women under various pretexts,” said a Kabul resident. “They have turned sports stadiums into arenas for public floggings, just like in the 1990s.”
Another Kabul resident added: “The Taliban have imposed some of the harshest restrictions and punishments in the past three years—floggings, amputations, and even stonings.”
As reports of public punishments continue to mount, concerns are growing that the Taliban are fully reinstating their 1990s-era policies, despite international condemnation.
