The Supreme Court of the Taliban-led administration has announced that a woman and a man were publicly flogged in Zabul after being convicted of running away from home.
According to a statement issued by the court, the pair were each given 39 lashes and sentenced to four to five years in prison following a ruling by a Taliban judicial authority.
The punishments were carried out on Wednesday, March 11, in the presence of local officials and members of the public.
In a separate case in Badakhshan, three men were also subjected to corporal punishment after being convicted of selling and transporting alcohol. The court said the men were each given 39 lashes and sentenced to two years in prison.
Public corporal punishment has increasingly become part of the Taliban’s judicial enforcement since the group returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Available data indicates that since the beginning of 2024, more than 2,000 people have been publicly flogged across Afghanistan, including around 291 women, on various charges.
The punishments have often been carried out in public settings where local officials and residents are present.
Observers note that the majority of those subjected to public corporal punishment appear to be ordinary citizens, while individuals affiliated with Taliban ranks have rarely faced such penalties publicly.
International human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized the use of corporal punishment, describing practices such as public flogging as forms of cruel and degrading treatment.
Despite the criticism, the Taliban administration maintains that such punishments represent the implementation of Islamic law through courts operating under its authority.
