Taliban Reverts to 90s-Era Policy with Stoning Women for Adultery

The Taliban has announced plans to publicly stone women to death for adultery, signaling a regression to their 1990s-era policies. This announcement, made on state-controlled media, has sparked international outcry yet faces insufficient global response.

“You say it's a violation of women's rights when we stone them to death. But we will soon implement the punishment for adultery,” said the Taliban’s Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada on state-controlled television. “We will flog women in public. We will stone them to death in public. These are all against your democracy, but we will continue doing it.”

According to the Taliban, both a boy and a girl will be flogged if they engage in any form of contact or communication. Stoning, on the other hand, is reserved for women who engage in relations with men outside of marriage.

Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021 after the Afghan government fell and Western forces withdrew, the situation for women and girls has drastically deteriorated. They have faced significant setbacks in education, employment, and public life. However, stoning them to death is one of the gravest measures yet.

“Two years ago, the Taliban didn't have the courage they have today to vow to stone women to death in public; now they do. We should all be warned that if not stopped, more and more will come,” said Sahar Fetrat, women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.

The new decree has sent shockwaves throughout the country, giving yet another reason for women to avoid leaving the home. Some young women say the situation on the ground is even worse than what’s being reported in international media.

“We are just breathing, nothing more,” 24-year-old Farah* tells More to Her Story. “This new law will 100% prevent more women from leaving the house. I'm just waiting for it to happen to me.”

Many Afghan women feel as though the world has turned its back on them.

“It’s been more than two years, and nothing has changed. The world has accepted the situation for Afghan women,” Sadia*, 22, tells More to Her Story.

The Taliban have barred girls from attending school beyond the sixth grade and have increasingly limited women’s presence in the workforce. Women are prohibited from working at the United Nations and various aid agencies.

Sanctions and the withdrawal of aid have been proposed as levers to pressure the Taliban into upholding women’s rights. However, these measures are double-edged swords – while they might compel the Taliban to reconsider its stance, they also risk exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, now one of the countries with the highest numbers of people facing severe levels of hunger.

Even so, many say the international community, including governments and the United Nations, has a moral imperative to exert diplomatic pressure on the Taliban to uphold women’s rights. This can be done through sanctions focused on Taliban leaders and their financial networks. Any form of dialogue or engagement with the Taliban should be anchored in the commitment to women’s rights. 

The global movement to codify gender apartheid as a crime under international law has gained remarkable momentum in recent months, including from the highest levels at the United Nations and governments worldwide. Each new oppressive decree, like the most recent one, further energizes it. 

*Names have been changed.