Taliban Flogs Over 1,100 Citizens and Conducts Public Executions in Year of Escalating Corporal Punishment

Over 1,100 people were flogged and six executed in Afghanistan during the past year. Read about the Taliban's escalating use of corporal punishment.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 22, 2026, 9:35 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Amu TV

A Systematic Expansion of Physical Retribution

The use of corporal punishment under the Taliban has seen a dramatic surge over the past solar year, with 1,186 documented cases of public and private floggings. Data compiled from the Taliban’s Supreme Court reveals that these punishments have become a standardized tool of governance across nearly every province, including major urban centers like Kabul, Herat, and Kandahar. In many instances, the number of lashes administered reached as high as 39 per individual. While the official count is high, researchers suggest the actual figures may be even greater due to gaps in reporting during mid-summer months. This trend indicates a shift toward more frequent and severe applications of the Taliban’s penal code as they consolidate their domestic authority.

The Public Nature of Retributive Justice

Public executions, conducted under the principle of qisas, or retributive justice, have returned to the Afghan social landscape with alarming visibility. During the period between March 2025 and March 2026, six individuals were put to death in front of thousands of spectators, including children. High-profile cases included an execution in a sports stadium in Khost and multiple deaths in Badghis, Farah, and Nimroz. These events are often staged to maximize psychological impact, serving as a stark reminder of the regime's uncompromising stance on its interpretation of Islamic law. Rights observers argue that these spectacles are designed to instill a climate of fear, effectively silencing potential opposition through the threat of lethal state violence.

The Targeting of Women and Gendered Punishments

A significant and troubling aspect of the past year’s data is the systematic inclusion of women in public floggings. Official court statements confirm that approximately 100 women were lashed over an eight-month span for various alleged offenses. These punishments are often carried out in public settings, violating international human rights standards regarding the protection of women and the prohibition of degrading treatment. The expansion of these measures coincides with broader restrictions on female movement and education, suggesting that corporal punishment is being utilized as a primary enforcement mechanism for the Taliban’s gender-based social policies.