AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN PUBLICLY FLOG WOMAN AND THREE MEN

May 7, 2025:

The Taliban authorities have publicly flogged a woman and three men in separate incidents in northern and southeastern Afghanistan, according to statements issued on May 4, 2025 by the group’s Supreme Court.
On May 4, a woman and a man were lashed in front of a crowd in Qala-e-Zal district of Kunduz province. The court said both were found guilty of “illicit relations” and sentenced to 30 lashes each, in addition to one year in prison.
In a separate incident the day before, two men were publicly flogged in Zurmat district of Paktia province after being convicted of “sodomy.” Each was given 33 lashes and also sentenced to one year in prison.
This marks the latest in a series of escalating corporal punishments, including public floggings, executions, and stonings.
Since regaining power in August 2021, the Taliban have reinstated strict interpretations of Sharia law, similar to their rule in the late 1990s.
Under this regime, six public executions have already been carried out for murder, and hundreds of individuals—particularly women and LGBTQ+ community members—have been subjected to public floggings for what the Taliban label as “moral corruption.”
Reports suggest an uptick in such punishments in recent months, with public floggings becoming a daily occurrence.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documented 111 cases of corporal punishment between June and September of last year, including 15 women and one girl.