In the final months of 2025, Afghanistan witnessed a troubling escalation in public punishments carried out by the Taliban, underscoring the deepening human rights crisis facing the country’s population—especially women.
According to the latest human rights situation report released by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the Taliban publicly flogged at least 287 people, including 30 women, between October 1 and December 31, 2025. These punishments were imposed for alleged offenses such as adultery, homosexuality, and extramarital relationships. In addition to public lashings, those punished were also sentenced to prison terms ranging from 10 months to six years.
UNAMA’s report further notes that since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have publicly executed 12 men convicted of murder, reflecting a pattern of harsh and highly visible enforcement of their interpretation of justice.
Alongside corporal punishment, restrictions on everyday life—particularly for women—remain firmly in place. Bans on girls’ higher education, female beauty salons, and women’s participation in public life continue unabated. In a further tightening of controls, the Taliban have, since September, barred Afghan women—including UN staff, contractors, and visitors—from entering United Nations premises across the country.
Human rights observers warn that these measures not only violate international human rights norms but also inflict lasting psychological and social harm on Afghan society. Public punishments, carried out before communities, are seen as instruments of fear and control rather than justice, while the exclusion of women from education, employment, and public institutions threatens the country’s long-term social and economic stability.
As international concern grows, UNAMA’s findings serve as a stark reminder that more than three years after the Taliban’s return to power, Afghanistan’s human rights situation continues to deteriorate, with its most severe consequences borne by women and other vulnerable groups.
Read more :Taliban Enforce New Criminal Code Signed by Hibatullah, Deepening Repression Across Afghanistan
