Moral Policing, Public Floggings, and the Decline of Girls' Education in Taliban ruled Afghanistan
Since the Taliban's return to power in August 2021, Afghanistan has faced a sharp decline in human rights, with women and minorities bearing the brunt of repression. The Taliban’s enforcement of moral policing, public floggings, and the systematic dismantling of girls' education reflects their rigid interpretation of Sharia law despite global condemnation. This article examines the impact of these policies on Afghan society, particularly women and girls while highlighting the Taliban’s justification through religious edicts. It also explores internal dissent, international responses, and the long-term consequences of gender-based restrictions on Afghanistan’s socio-economic and political stability. By analyzing documented cases of public punishments and educational bans, the piece provides insight into the Taliban’s governance model and its broader implications for human rights and regional security.
Moral Policing and Public Floggings
The Taliban's Supreme Court recently reported that 583 individuals were publicly flogged in 2024, a disturbing trend that underscores the Taliban regime's commitment to harsh, medieval punishments. There were reports of at least six executions in 2024. In July 2024, the Taliban publicly flogged 18 men at the central football stadium in the city of Tarinkot, the capital of Uruzgan Province in south-central Afghanistan. These individuals, convicted of offences such as theft, sodomy, and adultery by the Taliban's appellate court in Uruzgan, were each whipped between 19 and 39 times. The charges ranged from extramarital relationships, theft, and fraud to immorality and running away from home. Public executions, amputations, and floggings have been conducted in sports stadiums, reminiscent of the group's brutal rule in the 1990s.
Moral policing units, commonly called the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (MPVPV), have expanded their operations across major cities and rural provinces. These units enforce dress codes, restrict movement, and punish individuals for minor infractions, including listening to music, interacting with unrelated individuals of the opposite sex (even with healthcare workers), and failing to adhere to the Taliban's interpretation of Islamic behaviour. On November 21, 2022, the Taliban officially confirmed the strict implementation of Sharia law in Afghanistan. In a public display of corporal punishment, 19 individuals—nine women and ten men—were each lashed 39 times in a mosque in Taloqan city, Takhar province. The punishments were administered for alleged offences, including adultery, theft, and fleeing from home, underscoring the Taliban's rigid enforcement of their interpretation of Islamic law.
In the post-Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in mid-2021, there were several instances of public punishment under Taliban rule took place. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has documented 217 cases of cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishments between August 15, 2021 and June 15, 2022, targeting individuals accused of violating moral or religious codes. Most of these cases include publicly stoned to death and flogging) were reported in Lashkargah city (Helmand), Tirinkot (Uruzgan) and Nusay (Badakhshan). Many of the accused were convicted of moral crimes, such as adultery, theft, and violating dress codes. These punishments have drawn widespread criticism from human rights organizations, but the Taliban remains unmoved by external pressure. Such public punishments were widely in practice during the Taliban regime between 1996 and 2001.
The Taliban justify their policies on moral policing, public floggings, and restrictions on women's rights—particularly the ban on girls' education—through selective interpretations of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) and religious edicts (fatwas). Their justifications are rooted in a narrow, conservative reading of Hanafi jurisprudence, combined with Pashtun tribal customs (Pashtunwali) and historical precedents from earlier Islamic governance.
Prohibiting Girls' Education
Education for girls has been one of the biggest casualties of the Taliban regime. Since December 2022, all secondary schools and universities have been closed to female students, effectively erasing decades of progress in Afghan women's education. While the Taliban initially promised a more moderate approach to governance, their policies have systematically excluded girls from formal education, citing religious justifications.
Reports indicate that secret schools have been established in various parts of Afghanistan to educate young girls, but these initiatives face significant risks. Teachers operating underground schools have been threatened and arrested, with some institutions forcibly shut down. In Herat and Kabul, multiple women's rights activists protesting for education rights were detained and later flogged.
Since reclaiming power in August 2021, the Taliban has systematically dismantled educational opportunities for Afghan girls, making Afghanistan the only country in the world to ban female education beyond the age of 12. Over the past three years, at least 1.4 million girls have been deliberately denied access to secondary education, while nearly 2.5 million remain out of school due to pre-existing barriers and newly imposed restrictions. This represents 80% of Afghan school-age girls, exacerbating an already dire gender disparity in education and severely impacting the country's long-term development and social stability.
The Taliban justify their ban on girls' education through a combination of religious and cultural arguments. They claim that co-education violates Islamic principles of modesty and cite hadiths promoting female seclusion (purdah), arguing that gender segregation is necessary to preserve societal morality. They further assert that allowing women to study and work outside the home leads to fitna (moral corruption) and undermines family structures. To support their stance, they selectively reference hadiths such as “A woman’s best place is her home,” despite Islamic history providing numerous examples of female scholars, teachers, and leaders. Figures like Hazrat Aisha, Umm Salama, and Fatima al-Fihri—who founded the world’s first university—demonstrate that education for women has long been an integral part of Islamic tradition, contradicting the Taliban’s rigid interpretation.
Rising Dissent Within
Despite international condemnation and growing frustration within Afghanistan, the Taliban continues to enforce its ban on female education, citing cultural and religious justifications. However, internal dissent is emerging, with some prominent Afghan figures challenging the legitimacy of these restrictions. On January 13, 2025, former President Hamid Karzai publicly urged the Taliban to reopen schools and universities for girls, calling education an "unquestionable and inalienable right." He argued that barring girls from learning contradicts Afghanistan's national interests, weakens family structures, and undermines social stability and economic progress.
Echoing this sentiment, on January 18, Abbas Stanekzai, the Taliban's Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, criticized the ban as having no foundation in Islamic teachings. He pointed out that during the time of Prophet Muhammad, education was equally accessible to men and women. Citing Hazrat Aisha as a prominent scholar and advisor, he questioned the Taliban's rationale for preventing girls from seeking knowledge. He further condemned the broader restrictions on women, including their exclusion from hospitals, mosques, and public spaces, arguing that such measures do not align with Sharia law.
These rare but rising voices of opposition from within Afghanistan's political and religious circles highlight the growing debate over the Taliban's policies on women's rights. However, the leadership remains largely unmoved, continuing to enforce draconian laws that further entrench gender-based discrimination. As Afghanistan becomes increasingly isolated from the international community, the Taliban's education ban not only deprives millions of girls of their fundamental rights but also deepens the country's socio-economic crisis, ensuring a future defined by ignorance, poverty, and repression.
Conclusion
The international community, including the United Nations and human rights organizations, has repeatedly condemned the Taliban's actions. The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan has labelled the treatment of women and girls as "gender apartheid." Despite diplomatic engagements, sanctions, and withheld aid, the Taliban remains unyielding in its policies. Afghan women have continued to resist through protests and advocacy efforts despite severe repercussions. Many activists have been jailed, while others have fled the country. Humanitarian groups warn that if the ban on girls' education continues, Afghanistan risks losing an entire generation of educated women, exacerbating poverty and social instability. Similarly, the enforcement of moral policing through public floggings and other brutal punishments reflects a systematic effort to impose their rigid interpretation of Sharia law, reinforcing fear and social control. These actions not only violate fundamental human rights but also perpetuate a culture of oppression, mainly targeting women and dissenters.
The Taliban's governance model remains deeply repressive, characterized by strict moral policing, public floggings, and the near-total erasure of women from public life. The crackdown on girls' education has particularly dire consequences, not only for Afghan society but for regional stability. As resistance grows both within Afghanistan and internationally, the future remains uncertain, with Afghan women at the forefront of a struggle for fundamental rights and freedoms.
Selected Reading
1- UNAMA Report (2022, July). Human Rights In Afghanistan, August 15 2021 – June 15 2022. https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/unama_human_rights_in_afghanistan_report_-_june_2022_english.pdf
2- Qazi Zada, S., & Qazi Zada, M. Z. (2024). The Taliban and women’s human rights in Afghanistan: the way forward. The International Journal of Human Rights, 28(10), 1687–1722. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2024.2369584
3- Ruchi Kumar R., and Hakimi, Orooj (2022, December 10). Return of Afghan floggings as Taliban takes a hardline path. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/10/return-of-floggings-as-afghan…
4-International Crisis Group (2023, February 23). Taliban Restrictions on Women’s Rights Deepen Afghanistan’s Crisis. Report 329. https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-asia/afghanistan/329-taliban-res…