A year after the Taliban reinstated brutal punishments like flogging and stoning for offenses such as adultery and operating unauthorized girls' schools, reports now examine whether their threats have translated into widespread enforcement. While the group’s hardline decrees sparked global condemnation, new accounts suggest a patchwork of implementation—with some regions seeing heightened crackdowns while others remain less active. Human rights groups warn that the return of such extreme measures signals a deepening of the Taliban’s theocratic rule, raising fears of further restrictions on women and dissenters. The question of whether these punishments are being systematically applied—or selectively enforced—remains a critical test of the regime’s intentions.
In 2024, the ruling Taliban pledged to use flogging as well as stoning to punish people for not following certain of their precepts — committing adultery, running secret schools for girls. Have they followed through?
