Three women and nine men were subjected to flogging, ordered by the Taliban government, in front of hundreds of spectators who gathered in a local sports stadium to witness the punishment on Wednesday, November 23.
The latest incident signals that the extremist group that now rules Afghanistan has embarked on using brutal force, a known trademark they used during their first rule in the late 1990s as a form of punishment for crimes committed.
In Logar province, located south of Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, the governor’s office invited people, including tribal leaders, honorable scholars, elders, mujahideen, and locals, to witness the lashings at a local stadium in Puli Alam, a town in Logar. The incident occurred at around 9 am local time.
Out of the 12 victims, each got a minimum of 21 and a maximum of 39 lashes. An official in the governor’s office said that a local court had convicted the 12 of crimes, including theft and adultery. He spoke on condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to disclose the details to the media.
According to the source, hundreds of people showed up to the stadium to witness the beatings, and local authorities imposed a ban on taking any photos and videos.
The Taliban’s resumption of the whippings was in line with the group’s intention of upholding their stringent interpretation of Sharia law.
Speaking to the media about the lashings, Enayatullah Shuja, Logar’s deputy governor, said that Afghanistan must implement Sharia law as it was the only possible solution to the country’s problems.
During the Taliban’s first rule, which lasted about six years between 1996 and 2001, public lashings, stoning, and public executions were common punishments for purported crimes.
The Taliban emerged in 1994 and was a huge faction in the Afghan Civil war, taking control of almost three-quarters of the entire country by 1996. Human rights in the country were trashed when the Taliban took over leadership under Mohammed Omar Mujahid.
During their tenure, the Taliban rulers enforced strict interpretations of Islamic law, including discrimination against other religions and ethnicities, denying starving civilians of UN food supplies, and prohibiting women from attending school or seeking employment.
The United States overthrew the Taliban in December 2001, but the religious extremist group regained control in August 2021. Even though many people hoped that they would loosen their grip and stick to their promise of being more moderate and upholding the rights of women and minorities, it seems they have taken a different approach.
Since the takeover, the group has developed numerous policies signaling the return of the iron fist rule as the previous regime.
The Taliban now requires that all women wear head-to-toe coverings, has banned women’s school attendance past the 6th grade, and it is illegal for women to travel without male companions in the country.
The first confirmed incident of public lashings happened on November 11, when nearly 20 men and women got 39 lashes for adultery, theft, and running from home.
