A recent report by Afghanistan Women’s Voice shows that in the past month, Taliban courts and their so-called Department of Vice and Virtue flogged 103 men and eight women.
Those arrested were accused of offenses such as extramarital relations, sodomy, theft, running away from home, and selling alcohol. They were sentenced to prison and public lashings.
Compared to previous months, the number of arrests and floggings has gone up. On August 23, in Jaghatu district of Ghazni province, Taliban officials publicly flogged a man and a woman accused of extramarital relations. The court handed them three months in prison and 30 lashes each.
Women’s rights activists have raised concerns about the rise in such punishments, stressing that these figures are not just statistics but people whose dignity is being trampled. They warn that the Taliban have turned public spaces, parks and stadiums into arenas of punishment and execution.
The regime continues to use Sharia as a tool of control, particularly against women and girls. For years, the Taliban have invoked religion to justify their crimes and human rights abuses.
Note: The photo is from the Internet
