Afghanistan: Stoning for Adultery
Context, incidents, and monitoring—education-only overview
Overview
Scope. This page summarizes what is known about stoning (rajm) for adultery (zina) in Afghanistan: historical practice, legal context, selected incidents, and recent monitoring by international bodies.
Across different periods, enforcement has varied. During the first Taliban regime (1996–2001), public corporal punishments and executions—including in stadiums—were recorded by observers. From 2001–2021, a draft to explicitly restore stoning (2013) drew criticism and was not enacted. Since August 2021, UN monitors have documented widespread judicial floggings and some executions; verified reports of stoning in this period are rare, but the legal and rhetorical environment keeps the risk in view.
History & Legal Context
Key points
- 1996–2001: Public corporal punishments and executions carried out by officials under the first Taliban rule.
- 2001–2021: Under the Islamic Republic, a 2013 proposal to reintroduce stoning for adultery was criticized and not passed.
- Since Aug 2021: Taliban leadership publicly instructed judges to apply hudud and qisās when conditions are deemed met; UN reports document renewed corporal punishment, especially public lashings.
“The Afghan government should immediately reject a proposal to restore stoning as punishment for adultery.” — Human Rights Watch, Nov. 25, 2013
International bodies consider corporal punishment such as stoning and flogging to constitute torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment, which is prohibited under treaties binding on Afghanistan.
Selected Incidents (pre-2021 and reported cases)
- Badghis (2010): Amnesty International confirmed a Taliban stoning of a couple for alleged adultery near a village in the northwest.
- Ghor (2015): A 19-year-old woman was reported stoned to death for alleged adultery by militants; video prompted international condemnation.
- Public lashings for “zina”: UN and media reports note floggings for “immoral relations” both before and after 2021; large group floggings have been reported since late 2022.
“Since their takeover of Afghanistan … the de facto authorities have implemented corporal punishment and the death penalty.” — UNAMA Human Rights brief (May 2023)
Since 2021: What Monitors Report
UNAMA has tracked a surge in judicial corporal punishment, particularly public floggings, following public guidance from senior Taliban figures to apply hudud when evidentiary standards are met. Verified stoning cases are not commonly reported in this period, but the combination of rhetoric, court instructions, and precedent sustains ongoing concern among human-rights organizations.
Terminology
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Zina | Sexual intercourse outside marriage; in some interpretations, married offenders face fixed (hudud) penalties. |
| Hudud | Fixed punishments in Islamic law (e.g., for theft, zina), sometimes corporal or capital. |
| Qisās | Retaliatory punishment for specific crimes (e.g., murder), often involving victim-family decision. |
| Rajm | Stoning; a form of hudud punishment specified by some schools for adultery by married persons. |
References (APA style)
- United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. (2023, May). Corporal punishment and the death penalty in Afghanistan. https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/hr_brief_on_cpdp_03052023-_english_0.pdf
- United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. (2024, Oct–Dec). Human Rights Situation in Afghanistan: Update. https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/human_rights_situation_in_afghanistan_october_-_december_2024_-_english.pdf
- U.S. Department of State. (2024). 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Afghanistan. https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/afghanistan/
- Human Rights Watch. (2013, November 25). Afghanistan: Reject proposal to restore stoning. https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/11/25/afghanistan-reject-proposal-restore-stoning
- The Guardian. (2013, November 25). Afghanistan considers reintroduction of public stoning for adulterers. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/11/25/afghanistan-reintroduction-public-stoning-adulterers
- Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. (2015, November 2). Disturbing footage emerges of “Taliban” stoning in Afghanistan. https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-taliban-stoning-woman-adultery/27341045.html
- Amnesty International. (2010, August 16). Afghan couple stoned to death by Taleban. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2010/08/talibanes-lapidan-pareja-afgana/
- Associated Press. (2024). The Taliban publicly flogs 63 people including women accused of crimes; UN condemns it. https://apnews.com/article/f808b1c96f3b4543ec9d62f823d56a8e