KABUL: The Afghan Taliban’s Supreme Court has announced that 36 individuals were publicly flogged in Khost province on a single day as part of their judicial punishments.
According to a statement from the court, the individuals were each given between 10 and 39 lashes and were also sentenced to one to two years in prison.
Afghan media reported that on January 23 the Taliban Supreme Court announced that lower courts in Afghanistan had sentenced 31 people to public floggings during the previous week. The punishments took place in five Afghan locations which included Kabul Faryab Balkh Nangarhar and Herat provinces.
Taliban officials declared that in 2025 Afghan authorities executed six individuals for different offenses while 1 118 people received lashings through Taliban judicial procedures.
Taliban expands educational censorship, bans key books and courses in Afghanistan
The government of the Taliban in Afghanistan has tremendously broadened its restrictions on access to books, curricula, and information, thus imposing stringent controls over what educational materials are permitted.
According to international media reports, the Taliban not only provided a list of books forbidden for reading in public libraries and bookstores but also reorganized the university curricula resulting in the discontinuation of dozens of subjects and hundreds of textbooks. More than 200 subjects were either restricted or subjected to certain conditions.
The banned subjects include topics like human rights, democracy, the Afghan constitution, political systems, electoral systems, gender studies, sociology of women, moral philosophy, history of religions, and global politics. Many of these subjects directly relate to women’s rights and modern social and political concepts.
Taliban officials argue that these subjects contradict the principles of Sharia law and the policies of the Islamic Emirate.
The report also noted that a large number of the banned books were written by Iranian authors and female writers. A complete ban has been imposed on teaching any books authored by women in universities. Furthermore, books by Iranian authors have been prohibited under the claim that Afghanistan must resist Iranian influence in its educational curriculum, despite the fact that Persian has been a long-standing medium for academic exchange in Afghanistan.
The list of banned books for the general book market includes works on Afghanistan’s recent history, anti-Taliban political and military leaders, the Shia community, women’s rights, regional politics, and even research related to the Taliban movement itself. Numerous works by well-known Afghan and international scholars have also been banned. The Taliban’s primary objection to these books is that they are seen as contrary to the national interest, Islamic beliefs, or cultural values.
Religious topics are also under strict surveillance. Works on Shia thought, Sufism, Islamic philosophy, and even certain classical Islamic texts have been restricted. Additionally, books on Christianity, philosophy, Marxism, and Western political and social ideologies are included in the banned list. Many globally renowned books dealing with women’s issues, feminism, and autobiographies have also been removed from circulation.
