AFGHANISTAN: The Taliban has ordered Afghan courts to fully implement their interpretation of Sharia Law, which experts believe could further deteriorate the state of human rights in the impoverished nation and allow for possible public executions, amputations, and flogging.
Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, issued the “obligatory” order after meeting with judges to “examine the cases of thieves, kidnappers, and seditionists,” as per Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
Mujahid cited Akhundzada as saying, “Carefully examine the files of thieves, kidnappers, and seditionists.”
Akhundzada, who has not been seen on camera or in a public photograph since the Taliban retook control in August last year, reigns by decree from Kandahar, the birthplace and spiritual heartland of the movement.
A softer version of the harsh rule that characterised the Taliban’s first term in office, from 1996 to 2001, was promised, but rights and freedoms have been incrementally curtailed. Particularly, the rights of women have been severely constrained.
Although the Taliban have not provided details regarding the precise crimes and penalties, a religious leader in Afghanistan has issued a warning to the media, saying that stoning, public flogging, and amputations may all be permitted punishments under Sharia law.
The edict is the most recent example of the Taliban’s tougher stance on civil liberties.
In Kabul, they last week imposed a ban on women entering any park, further isolating them from society. Since then, it has come to light that the ban includes accessing public pools and gyms in the city, even though the latter attracted comparatively few women.
As a result of Taliban policies that prohibited gender discrimination, access to parks, bathrooms, and gyms was already restricted. Islamic law, according to the group, was not being followed.
Since foreign troops left Afghanistan after 20 years of fighting and the Taliban advanced in the summer of 2021, the level of violence has decreased throughout the country.
However, the gang has been accused of violating many human rights, including those of opponents, women, and journalists, in a number of different cases.
When it was in power from 1996 to 2001, it brutally suppressed women, but it promised that this would never happen again. However, the rights of the other half of the population are severely restricted.
The absence of a male chaperone prevents women from taking longer-distance trips. Despite the Taliban’s vows to allow it, teenage girls have still not started attending school in the majority of the nation.
Although some women still work in industries like healthcare and education, the majority of them were told not to after the Taliban retook power.
Since May, women are mandated to cover their faces in public. For standing up for their rights, several women have experienced physical abuse.
The international community is waiting for the Taliban to keep its unfulfilled promises regarding security, governance, and human rights while also freezing Afghan assets worth billions of dollars that are held abroad.
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