A very sad first since the 1990s...
On Wednesday, November 23, the Taliban punished 14 people in a public lashing hosted in a soccer stadium.
This happened in the capital of Logar province, Pul Alam, after the Taliban Supreme Court sentenced 11 men and three women "for different sins, including adultery, robbery and other forms of corruption," including gay sex.
The Taliban were proud that hundreds of people (including "scholars and authorities") watched as the group of 14 was whipped.
Attendees were invited via social media but were asked not to film the event.
You can probably guess what would have happened if someone was caught recording...
"Fourteen people, including three women were lashed in the presence of scholars, authorities and people… for different sins including adultery, robbery and other forms of corruption in a football stadium in Logar [province]," said the Taliban's Supreme Court.
After their lashing, the three women were freed, but some men were jailed.
This disturbing spectacle came simultaneously when the Taliban's secretive Supreme Leader, Hibatullah Akhunzada, announced that Sharia law has returned to Afghanistan.
"Sharia law is the only solution for problems in Afghanistan and must be implemented," said the deputy governor of Logar, Enayatullah Shuja.
Afghanistan is a scary place. Sharia law is back and in full force, and these public lashings are ramping up.
Just a couple weeks before, on November 11, at least 19 people were also lashed (39 times) in the northeast for allegedly carrying out adultery and theft.
But that wasn't taking it far enough for the Taliban. They had to make it public. They had to turn it into a sick spectacle.
From the Telegraph:
The Taliban is struggling to maintain law and order in Afghanistan or run a functioning economy. On Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross warned that many Afghans would struggle to survive during the upcoming winter.
Approximately 90 per cent of Afghans are already suffering from food insecurity and there are reports of parents giving their starving infant children medicines, including escitalopram and sertraline, to sedate them.
In the central Afghan province of Uruzgan, local officials report children overdosing or becoming addicted to opium after their parents gave them the drug to staid hunger or in lieu of being able to afford medical painkillers.
What is happening in Afghanistan is a stark comparison to Qatar, where they are hosting the ongoing FIFA World Cup. Some Afghans turned to social media to bravely share their thoughts...
"While stadiums in Qatar are hosting the World Cup matches these days, stadiums in Afghanistan have once again become a place for public lashing and execution," wrote one user.
Since the US withdrew from Afghanistan after a long 20 years, everything has been spiraling. After the longest foreign war in history, after trillions of dollars spent, and after so many lives lost, it's horrible to see the country collapse overnight.
