In a voice message on state television, Taliban chief Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada has said that women in the country would be publicly flogged and stoned to death for adultery. He also said that the Taliban would continue fighting against Western democracy and advocated strict imposition of Sharia in Afghanistan. Akhundzada stated that the international community’s backing of women’s rights conflicted with the Taliban’s strict adherence to Islamic Sharia law.
The Taliban head said, “Do women want the rights that Westerners are talking about? They are against Sharia and clerics’ opinions, the clerics who toppled Western democracy. I told the Mujhaideen that we tell the Westerners that we fought against you for 20 years and we will fight 20 and even more years against you. It did not finish [when you left]. It does not mean we would now just sit and drink tea. We will bring Sharia to this land. We will now bring Sharia into action.”
Akhundzada added, “You say it’s a violation of women’s rights when we stone them to death. But we will soon implement the punishment for adultery. We will flog women in public. We will stone them to death in public. These are all against your democracy but we will continue doing it. We both say we defend human rights – we do it as God’s representative and you as the devil’s.”
Notably, many liberal media houses had portrayed the new Taliban rule in Afghanistan, that started in September 2021, as the more moderate one and praised it. However, the declaration highlights the challenges encountered by Afghan women under Taliban regime and provokes worries regarding the Taliban’s approach towards human rights.
