Taliban to resume stoning of women for adultery in public: report

Afghan women have faced numerous challenges since the Taliban returned to power

New Delhi:

The Taliban reportedly announced that Afghan women would be stoned to death for committing adultery.

The Taliban’s top leader, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, announced in a voice message broadcast on state television on Saturday that the Taliban would resume the practice of publicly stoning women to death, the Daily Telegraph reported.

In a video obtained by The Telegraph, Akhundzada said the international community’s advocacy of women’s rights was contrary to the Taliban’s interpretation of Sharia law.

“You say we are violating women’s rights by stoning women. But we will soon implement punishment for adultery. We will whip women in public. We will stone them to death in public,” he said.

“The Taliban’s work did not end with the capture of Kabul, it has just begun,” Akhundzada added.

Afghan women have faced many challenges since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Girls and women in the war-torn country lack access to education, employment and public space.

Just a month after regaining power, Taliban authorities banned girls from attending secondary schools, then closed their university doors in December 2022 and severely restricted their participation in the labor market.

A United Nations report says the situation for women and girls in Afghanistan is “the worst in the world” and says the Taliban government’s policies – based on their strict interpretation of Islam – may amount to “gender apartheid”.

Agence France-Presse quoted a young student as saying that for many families, the only way out for their daughters is to get married, “whether they agree or not.”

“Depression is widespread. Suicide rates among girls have increased significantly in the past two years. It’s tragic,” she told the news agency.