In less than a month, Taliban have publicly flogged at least 71 people across multiple provinces, including 12 women, according to figures compiled by Amu from the Taliban’s Supreme Court statements.
The majority of women were punished on charges of “running away from home,” an issue the Taliban interpret under its strict interpretation of Islamic law. Other individuals were flogged for offenses such as illicit relationships, moral crimes, theft, alcohol consumption, and the sale or trafficking of prescription drugs, including the opioid-like tablet known locally as “K.”
Some of the punishments were carried out publicly, often in front of large crowds.
In one of the most visible incidents, the Taliban carried out a public execution by qisas — retributive justice — in Qala-e-Naw Stadium in Badghis Province in western Afghanistan, where a man identified as Ismail was executed last week in front of onlookers.
The latest floggings were reported in Faryab Province, where two individuals accused of engaging in an illicit relationship were lashed in a public square on Monday, Oct. 20.
The provinces with the highest number of floggings in the past month include Kabul (25 cases), Kapisa (18) cases, and Laghman (9 cases).
Corporal punishments were also carried out in Maidan Wardak, Khost, Nangarhar, Takhar, Ghazni, Faryab, and Balkh, according to the report.
Residents and civil society observers say the Taliban have increasingly focused on corporal punishment even as poverty and unemployment reach unprecedented levels across the country.
“In Afghanistan, poverty and misery are at an all-time high,” said a Kabul resident. “Instead of creating job opportunities, the Taliban resort to violence. People are tired of living like this. There’s a climate of fear in the city.”
Another resident added: “They should be providing work for young people, not lashing them in public.”
Alongside the floggings, Taliban confirmed that they carried out at least one public execution in the past month. The Qala-e-Naw killing marked the fifth execution this year under qisas, all of which took place in the provinces of Badghis, Farah, and Nimroz, according to Taliban sources.
Since regaining power in 2021, the Taliban have issued at least 177 qisas verdicts, based on available records.
