The Taliban’s Supreme Court said Monday that a man and a woman were publicly flogged in the northern province of Sar-e-Pul after being convicted of engaging in “illicit relations.”
In a statement, the court said both individuals were sentenced to three months in prison and received 10 lashes each. The punishment was carried out in public.
The floggings come amid an apparent push by the Taliban’s leadership to expand the enforcement of Islamic criminal penalties, known as hudud, which include corporal punishments such as lashing and amputation.
According to sources familiar with recent internal discussions, Taliban reclusive leader Hibatullah Akhundzada reiterated during Eid al-Fitr gatherings that such punishments should be increased and carried out in public. The aim, sources say, is to reinforce the Taliban’s doctrine of “promoting virtue and preventing vice,” even as international human rights organizations continue to urge the group to abandon such practices.
Since regaining control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have reintroduced punishments that had largely disappeared during the two decades of Western-backed governance. These include public floggings for offenses such as adultery, theft, and violations of strict moral codes.
According to figures obtained by Amu, at least 456 individuals—including 60 women—were flogged across 26 provinces in the past year alone. In total, more than 798 people, including 140 women, have been publicly flogged by the Taliban over the past three years.
Human rights groups have condemned the resurgence of corporal punishment in Afghanistan, calling it a violation of international norms and a rollback of basic human rights protections, particularly for women and vulnerable populations.
