The Taliban’s Vice and Virtue Ministry announced that its moral police have detained six individuals in Kabul on charges of engaging in “immoral relations.”
The statement did not disclose the identities of those arrested, but the detentions have sparked renewed criticism of the Taliban’s strict enforcement of its controversial morality laws.
The incident comes amid growing opposition to the Taliban’s Vice and Virtue laws, which have imposed severe restrictions on Afghan citizens, particularly women and girls. The Taliban’s Supreme Court frequently reports instances of individuals being flogged for similar charges of “immoral relations,” a practice that has drawn condemnation from human rights organizations.
The new law has been widely criticized internationally and even among Islamic scholars. A recent report by the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) argued that the Taliban are using religion to justify their oppressive governance, leaving millions of Afghan women and girls in a state of fear and uncertainty. The ongoing enforcement of these measures continues to deepen concerns about human rights abuses under Taliban rule.
