Afghanistan's Laws: Punishments And Penalties For Breaking Them

Breaking the law in Afghanistan can have severe consequences, especially with the Taliban's interpretation and enforcement of Sharia law. The Taliban's morality police have been known to publicly punish offenders, often violently, with punishments including imprisonment, public flogging, and even stoning and amputation. These punishments are reminiscent of the group's first stint in power from 1996 to 2001, when they deprived Afghans of their basic rights and freedoms. The current regime has issued over 100 edicts and orders, severely restricting women's freedoms, curbing dissent, and reintroducing their brutal form of justice.

Public executions and corporal punishment

Under the first Taliban regime, public corporal punishment and executions were frequently carried out by officials, often in large venues such as sports stadiums. Common methods of corporal punishment included lashings, amputations, and flogging, while executions were carried out by hanging, shooting, beheading, and stoning. The Taliban justified these punishments as a "major deterrent" to crime.

Since their return to power, the Taliban have continued to implement public executions and corporal punishment. For example, in December 2022, a man was executed in public at a crowded sports stadium in Farah Province, and in June 2023, a man found guilty of murdering five people was executed outside a mosque with an assault rifle by the son of one of his victims. Additionally, the Taliban have reintroduced their strict morality laws, including a strict dress code and gender segregation, with members of the morality police publicly punishing offenders, often violently.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has expressed concern over the Taliban's continued use of public executions and corporal punishment, emphasizing that these practices violate Afghanistan's international human rights obligations. UNAMA has called for an immediate moratorium on all executions and the abolition of the death penalty. Despite these appeals, the Taliban have shown no signs of ceasing these practices, and they continue to issue edicts that restrict the freedoms and rights of Afghans, particularly women and girls.

Restrictions on women's freedoms

Since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in August 2015, the freedoms of women have been severely restricted. Women's rights groups have accused the Taliban of trying to erase women from public life and imprison them in their homes. Indeed, the Taliban has issued numerous decrees that prevent women and girls from exercising their basic rights to freedom of expression, liberty, work, and education.

Restricted Freedom of Movement

A decree enacted in 2021 requires women to be accompanied by a male chaperone if they travel more than 72km from their homes. In some parts of the country, women are expected to travel with a male guardian for much shorter distances and can be interrogated and harassed at checkpoints if they travel alone. Women are also banned from appearing in public alone.

Restrictive Dress Codes

Women are required to wear full veils when they leave their homes and female TV news presenters must wear full veils during broadcasts.

No Protection from Violence

The nationwide system of support for survivors of sexualised violence built up by women's rights activists over the previous 20 years has almost completely collapsed. Safe houses have had to close, and staff offering protection and advice are subject to threats and often have to work undercover.

Forced Marriage

The Taliban has banned forced marriages, but this is not protecting girls. Families are marrying off their young daughters in return for a dowry to avoid starvation, and the Islamists are forcing families to give them their unmarried daughters as brides.

Restrictions on Education

Girls are forbidden from attending secondary schools, and women are no longer allowed to study. While primary schools remain open to girls, enrolment has dropped due to social norms, access issues, and safety concerns.

Restrictions on Employment

Women's employment opportunities have been largely restricted to the health and education sectors, and even in these sectors, there are many restrictions. For example, female doctors are not permitted to treat male patients or work with male colleagues. Women are banned from working outside the home, including for the UN, and female-run businesses have been prohibited in many areas.

Human rights violations

The Taliban's Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice is responsible for enforcing these morality laws, with members of its morality police publicly and violently punishing offenders. These punishments include jailing or publicly flogging men and women convicted of violating the Taliban's strict dress code and gender segregation rules. The Taliban has also scrapped Afghanistan's constitution and criminal code, instead introducing a narrow interpretation of Sharia law.

The rights of religious minorities, including Shia, Sikhs, Hindus, Christians, Ahmadiyya, and Ismailis, have also been severely restricted under the Taliban. They face marginalization, prejudice, and discrimination, and restrictions on religious events and celebrations. The Taliban has excluded Shia jurisprudence from the education system, so that religious teaching is based exclusively on the Sunni sect of Islam.

Freedom of expression has also been eroded, with journalists facing detention, harassment, and even death for reporting critically on the Taliban or violating their rules. The media is tightly controlled, with almost no freedom, and strict monitoring in place.

The Taliban has also been accused of targeting human rights defenders, women activists, humanitarian and health workers, and journalists for killings. There have also been reports of torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and unlawful detention of activists and human rights defenders.

The LGBTQ+ community in Afghanistan also faces severe human rights violations, with consensual same-sex relations being illegal and punishable by death. LGBTQ+ people face discrimination, targeted violence, threats, and arbitrary detention by the Taliban, and many are forced to live in hiding.

Finally, ethnic minority groups, such as the Hazaras, Uzbeks, Turkmen, and Tajiks, face growing marginalization, persecution, and forced eviction from their homes and land. There have been reports of violence and killings of members of these ethnic groups, with a lack of accountability and justice for these crimes.

Sharia law

In Afghanistan, Sharia law has been a part of the legal system for centuries, alongside state legislation and local customary law. The country's current rulers, the Taliban, have committed to ruling according to their interpretation of Sharia law. This has resulted in severe restrictions on the rights and freedoms of Afghans, particularly women and girls.

Under the Taliban's interpretation of Sharia law, women and girls face limitations on their education, employment, and participation in public life. They are barred from travelling long distances without a male chaperone and have been banned from visiting parks, gyms, and other public spaces. The Taliban have also imposed strict dress codes, requiring women to wear the Islamic face veil in public.

The Taliban's interpretation of Sharia law also includes harsh punishments for certain crimes, such as public amputations, lashings, and stoning. These punishments have been condemned by the international community as a violation of human rights.

While the Taliban claim to respect women's rights and interpret Sharia law in accordance with Afghan culture and Islamic law, their actions have led to a massive humanitarian crisis, with more than half of the Afghan population in need of aid. Western governments have stated that any path to recognition and the lifting of sanctions is dependent on the Taliban improving their record on women's rights.

Media censorship

The practical impact of these regulations has been extensive censorship of an already weakened Afghan media landscape. The Taliban has set up a media monitoring office that screens every broadcast for compliance with strict Islamic and political preferences. They have also ordered female anchors to wear facemasks and headscarves when presenting programs. Over the past year, there have been at least 245 cases of censorship, detention, and violence against media personnel. The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFCJ) reported that more than 130 journalists and media personnel had been detained, and some were tortured by the Taliban.

The Taliban's actions have led to an exodus of journalists from the country, with many going into hiding. Scores of media outlets, especially outside major cities, have closed down. The Taliban has a long history of threats, intimidation, and violence against journalists, including targeted killings. The group's intelligence agency has dealt with alleged cases of media violations by detaining, threatening, and even torturing journalists.

The few remaining independent media outlets in Afghanistan face severe restrictions on their reporting and practice self-censorship to avoid repercussions. The Taliban's restrictions on media freedom have deepened the country's isolation and limited the free flow of information, which is crucial for saving lives and livelihoods in a country facing a deteriorating humanitarian crisis.

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