Taliban supreme leader says women will soon be stoned to death for adultery

Declaring a war against Western Democracy, the Taliban have announced that it will soon start stoning women to death for adultery. 

The radical group's Supreme Leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada vowed this in a voice message broadcast on state TV on Saturday (Mar 23).

Labelling Western human rights defenders 'representatives of the devil', Akhundzada made the alarming declaration that the group will implement harsh punishments — including being stoned to death — against women.

"You say it's a violation of women's rights when we stone them to death. But we will soon implement the punishment for adultery," he said.

He defiantly stated that despite Western objections, the Taliban would "flog women in public. We will stone them to death in public."

"These are all against your democracy, but we will continue doing it," he said, adding that they were deemed necessary by the Taliban to uphold their interpretation of Islamic law.

"We both say we defend human rights—we do it as God's representative and you as the devil's," he declared in his harshest comments since taking over Kabul in August 2021.

Akhundzada's remarks represent a stark departure from the more moderate image the "new" Taliban have sought to portray since seizing power in Afghanistan in 2021. 

The announcement underscores the challenges faced by Afghan women under Taliban rule and raises concerns about the group's commitment to human rights.

In his voice message, Akhundzada said that the women's rights advocated by the "Westerners" were against the Taliban's interpretation of Islamic Sharia.

"Do women want the rights that Westerners are talking about?" he asked.

"They are against Sharia and clerics’ opinions, the clerics who toppled Western democracy."

Emphasising that Taliban foot soldiers must oppose the West, he added, "I told the Mujahedin that we tell the Westerners that we fought against you for 20 years, and we will fight 20 and even more years against you."

"We will bring Sharia to this land," said the Taliban supreme leader, who had not been seen in public since the Taliban seized control of Kabul.

His remarks have incited outrage among women, who have called for increased pressure from the international community.

Talking to the Telegraph, Tala, a former civil servant, said: "The money that they receive from the international community as humanitarian aid is just feeding them against women."

Calling Afghanistan a "prison" that the Taliban are making "smaller…every passing day," she added, "I don’t feel safe and secure in Afghanistan."

"Each morning starts with a barrage of notices and orders imposing restrictions and stringent rules on women, stripping away even the smallest joys and extinguishing hope for a brighter future," she said.