RASC News Agency: A harrowing case of gender-based violence has emerged from Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province, where local sources confirm that a woman was hanged to death by her husband in the Spinghar district just days after she was released from a Taliban prison. According to eyewitnesses and community sources, the woman had been arrested by the Taliban approximately one year ago on vague and unsubstantiated charges of “illicit relations” a term frequently weaponized by the regime against women, often in the absence of due process or credible evidence. Following her arrest, she was subjected to a public flogging and sentenced to one year in prison by a Taliban court operating outside internationally recognized legal norms. She had completed her sentence in full and was released just prior to Eid al-Adha.
Tragically, her return to civilian life lasted only a few days. On the night of Sunday, June 8, the woman was allegedly murdered by her husband, who hanged her in the bedroom of their home. She was a mother of three young children. This incident adds to a rising tide of domestic violence in Nangarhar, which has witnessed a disturbing pattern of brutality in recent weeks. In a separate case earlier this month, a man in the Bati Kot district reportedly murdered his wife in another act of unchecked domestic aggression. Local residents and civil society observers say that incidents of violence against women have escalated to alarming levels since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. The dismantling of institutions that once offered even modest protection for women such as the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, independent courts, and shelters has created a legal and social vacuum in which women are left defenseless against both public and private abuse.
The Taliban’s misogynistic policies, their aggressive policing of women’s behavior, and the erosion of legal recourse have together normalized violence as a tool of control and punishment. In this environment, gender-based violence has not only increased but has become institutionalized, often justified under the banner of “moral order” dictated by Taliban ideology. Furthermore, the Taliban’s systematic suppression of women’s rights ranging from bans on female education and employment to restrictions on mobility and appearance has fueled a broader culture of dehumanization. Critics argue that the regime’s silence in the face of such crimes is not passive neglect but an extension of its broader campaign to erase women from public and political life. Despite the brutality of this recent case, Taliban officials have yet to issue any statement or take visible action against the perpetrator. It remains unclear whether the husband has been arrested, investigated, or charged underscoring the absence of justice under the current regime and the chilling impunity enjoyed by male perpetrators of violence.
Human rights organizations warn that without international accountability mechanisms or domestic checks on Taliban power, incidents like these are likely to increase. The Taliban’s failure to condemn or prosecute acts of femicide sends a devastating signal to communities: that women’s lives, dignity, and rights are expendable under their rule. As Afghanistan descends further into authoritarian rule and economic desperation, the cost is being paid in the lives of its most vulnerable particularly women, who now face unprecedented levels of violence behind prison walls, in their homes, and on the streets, with no recourse to justice, protection, or dignity.
