Kabul: Ever since the Taliban re-captured control of war-torn Afghanistan in August 2021, dark days for women have been gradually returning.
Several restrictions, especially on education, have been put in place against Afghan women, and there have been reports of human rights violations.
Amid growing concerns that Taliban’s resurgence in Afghanistan is leading to a regression of women’s rights, one of their leaders recently issued a grave warning for women who dared to indulge in adultery.
Conveying the warning through a voice message broadcast on state television, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada stated that women in Afghanistan could face public floggings and stoning to death as punishment for adultery.
“We will flog the women… we will stone them to death in public…you may call it a violation of women’s rights when we publicly stone or flog them for committing adultery because they conflict with your democratic principles… But I represent Allah, and you represent Satan,” Akhundzada was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
Further justifying the move, Akhundzada said it was a continuation of Taliban’s struggle against Western influences.
“The Taliban’s work did not end with the takeover of Kabul, it has only just begun,” he said.
Alarmed by such a warning, Sahar Fetrat, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, sought to alert the Afghan people.
“Two years ago, they didn’t have the courage they have today to vow stoning women to death in public; now they do… They tested their draconian policies one by one, and have reached this point because there is no one to hold them accountable for the abuses… We should all be warned that if not stopped, more and more will come,” he told The Guardian.
The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 before being overthrown following the US-led invasion. The group managed to return to power in 2021 after US withdrew its troops.
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