By Qiyam Laghmani (Pseudonym)
The Taliban introduced public floggings after returning to power in 2021. Since then, hundreds of women have been lashed for so called moral crimes. One man in Balkh, a city in northern Afghanistan, describes how the Taliban force people to watch the brutal punishments.
A heavy silence hung over the court’s packed meeting hall. In the middle, a petite woman in her early 20s knelt on the floor in front of the judges. Her hands were tied and she was trembling.
Most of us were not at court that day to watch a woman being flogged; we had come to deal with various legal matters. Yet we were made to witness the lashing.
Taliban security forces had herded everyone who had come to the courthouse – including members of the public and defence lawyers – into the hall. Nobody was given a choice. Some people were struck with cables, rifle butts and whips to force them inside.
We were made to sit on the floor in rows. Those with nowhere to sit stood on the side. Taliban soldiers wouldn’t let anyone leave.
Before the young woman was brought in, a senior judge read out the charge against her and the sentence. We were told she was accused of “illicit socialising” and that officials from the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice had arrested her with a young man in the city.
The case had passed through all three levels of the judicial system with the sentence approved by the Supreme Court.
When the woman entered, we could see she had put on extra layers of clothing under her hijab to lessen the pain of the lashes. But the Taliban noticed this as well, and the additional garments were removed.
Two muftis carried out the punishment with what is called a ‘court whip’ or ‘Sharia whip’. It was made of leather and extremely stiff – some people commented that it might be reinforced with another material such as lead.
When the first blow landed, the woman pulled back her shoulders in pain. The second and third lashes followed immediately, striking her slight body with great force.
The blows began around her shoulders and continued down to her lower back and her buttocks.
The muftis struck the young woman 39 times. The blows were rapid, brutal and relentless. At first, she didn’t cry out; she just hunched over. Perhaps she feared that making a sound would make her alleged offence seem even more serious.
As the lashes increased, however, she could no longer endure the pain. The blows were exceptionally loud. Each thud echoed around the hall, followed by her screams and cries.
Tears ran down my face. My heart ached. I couldn’t bear to watch.
The woman lost her balance several times, but the flogging didn’t stop. Whenever she screamed or moaned, the man holding the whip seemed to strike her with even greater enthusiasm. The judges also appeared to watch with keen interest.
Everyone was silent. Some people were crying. Some had lowered their heads. Others stared at the woman. Some, like me, closed their eyes so they wouldn’t have to see the moment when the whip struck her. But whenever I heard her scream, my eyes opened again involuntarily.
I felt as though a blow had struck my own body. I felt her pain and was profoundly distressed. Even the cruellest people do not treat a young woman so mercilessly. I don’t know what kind of animals these people must be to see her suffering and feel no compassion.
By the final lashes, she was in a very bad state. I couldn’t be certain, but I thought she might be wounded and bleeding under her hijab.
At the end, she could no longer stand unaided. Her brother and a female police officer held her by the shoulders and took her outside. Seeing his sister’s condition, her brother sobbed uncontrollably.
It truly broke my heart.
This account has been edited for brevity and clarity. The author requested anonymity for security reasons.
