On 14 November, Afghan judges ordered the full implementation of Sharia law, along with its punishments for certain crimes, including mutilations, flogging, amputations, and executions, authorized by the Taliban’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. 

Under Islamic law, crimes require conclusive evidence for the accused to be convicted before undergoing severe punishments. Crimes warranting such penalties include theft, highway robbery, apostasy, adultery and false accusations of shame, slander, consumption of alcohol, and sedition.

Since the Taliban consolidated power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the group has closed down schools for girls in May despite brief suspensions, established mandatory full facial covering for women, and prohibited Afghan women from traveling without a male guardian back in March.

Until now, no country has formally recognized the Taliban government due to its treatment of women under their laws; however, Tehran seeks to establish good relations with Kabul, as the two share a common border.

During a press conference in Tehran with his Pakistani counterpart on 14 June, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that Iran maintains ties with the interim governing body of Afghanistan simply because they share a common border.

Amir-Abdollahian highlighted the need for the Taliban to form an inclusive government with the participation of all ethnicities as the only solution to the crisis in Afghanistan.

Over recent months, Afghanistan has been mired in a humanitarian crisis due to a western economic blockade that has denied the country access to its foreign reserves.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on 11 November that Afghanistan was facing an unprecedented crisis in 2021, which led to a rapid increase in acute food insecurity this year.

According to the UN, Afghanistan’s food crisis was severely exacerbated after Washington and other allied nations halted aid that funded 70 percent of the government budget.