Taliban Leader Warrants Stoning Women To Death For Adultery: Why Do Men Feel Entitled To Punish Women For Their Choices?

A Taliban leader recently announced the resumption of publicly flogging and stoning women to death for adultery. The Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada announced that this act should be seen as an enforcement of the group’s interpretation of ‘Sharia’ law in Afghanistan.

Last Saturday, in an audio broadcasted on the Taliban-controlled Radio Television Afghanistan, Akhundzada said, “We will flog the women … we will stone them to death in public [for adultery]. You may call it a violation of women’s rights when we publicly stone or flog them for committing adultery because they conflict with your democratic principles, [But] I represent Allah, and you represent Satan,” he added.

“The Taliban’s work did not end with the takeover of Kabul, it has only just begun,” he further added justifying this decision as a continuation of the Taliban’s struggle against Western influences.

The news has left, not just the women of Afghanistan, but also every compassionate soul around the world in shock.

What Entitles Them To Punish Women For Their Choices And Why Is The World Silent?

A lawyer and head of the Afghan human rights organisation Women’s Window of Hope, Safia Arefi said, “With this announcement by the Taliban leader, a new chapter of private punishments has begun and Afghan women are experiencing the depths of loneliness… Now, no one is standing beside them to save them from Taliban punishments. The international community has chosen to remain silent in the face of these violations of women’s rights.”

The question still remains: why? Why are the international peace organisations or women's welfare institutions not fighting against it? Why has the world gone silent? Why can’t the Afghan women be saved from such cruelty? Why do we fail to make people understand what ‘personal choice’ means?

This is not the first time that the Taliban group has practised authority over women. Not more than a while ago, they were against women getting any kind of education and even now they can study up to a certain level.

An Afghan researcher at Human Rights Watch, Sahar Fetrat said, “Two years ago, they didn’t have the courage they have today to vow stoning women to death in public; now they do… They tested their draconian policies one by one, and have reached this point because there is no one to hold them accountable for the abuses. Through the bodies of Afghan women, the Taliban demand and command moral and societal orders. We should all be warned that if not stopped, more and more will come.”

Is There Any Hope?

We asked some people we came across of various age groups and from different domains of life about their opinions on the matter.

Vani, in her late 20s, said, “We can hold them responsible figuratively but we in our power, cannot hold them accountable literally on any law. The deep rooted patriarchy mixed with misogyny, which is furthermore backed by ‘religious grounds’ holds no place for a woman in modern times.”

Anit, a fellow journalist, said, “The Taliban's treatment of women in Afghanistan has been awful for ages. They've never given women basic rights, education, or even the freedom to leave their homes without a male escort. Women have always been suppressed and questioned for everything. Maybe to fix this, we need to break down the patriarchal systems that allow this injustice and stop questioning women for their choices.”(5 Horrific Rape Cases That Shook The Nation After Nirbhaya)

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“Men feeling entitled to punish women for their choices, often arises from historical and cultural backgrounds, where women are viewed as property or a material thing, when a woman deviates from the prescribed roles or make choices that are perceived as challenging a male authority and they, then may resort to violence as a means of asserting dominance and maintaining control over woman. Furthermore, I do believe that religious interpretations and traditional practices also play a significant role in justifying such audiences against women, misinterpretations, or selective reading of religious texts can be used to justify oppressive behaviour or such kind of punishments that include violence against women.” said Sheik Shahid, a salesperson.

Rajvi, in her early 20s said, “Firstly, a country where men choosing adultery or multiple marriages is considered normal has no right to comment on whether adultery by a woman is punishable or not. Secondly, adultery in general is awful, if you want to punish your women, go ahead but do not normalise it for men either.”

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We tried to bring the terrible conditions of the Afghan women underTaliban Rule to light, read here to know the unsettling truth.

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