Taliban Making "Kill List" Of Afghan Sex Workers On Porn Sites: Report

Afghan sex workers are in peril under the oppressive Taliban regime as reports emerge of fighters putting together an alleged "kill list" to hunt women involved in porn and prostitution work in the country. This comes ahead of the fundamentalist group's return to administrative power in Afghanistan after two decades.

Women activists, teachers, artists and celebrities in the country are anticipating a severe pushback on their fundamental rights as the Taliban regains a foothold and is close to gaining legitimacy as a government in Afghanistan. The armed fighters are notorious for their orthodox ideology that during their previous regime between 1996 and 2001 manifested in bans on women's education and working rights, music and entertainment, and sharia-bound regulations on women's attire and mobility.

According to recent reports by The Sun, security forces have said Taliban death squads are on the lookout to identify women in prostitution or sex work by trawling "niche porn sites." They are "hell-bent" on picking out these women whom they allegedly plan to "slaughter or enslave," as per a source quoted by the publication.

Punishment to allegedly be meted out to them could possibly include stoning, hanging, beheading, as was common during the Taliban's rule the last time around.

What Will The Future Of Afghan Sex Workers Be?

The Taliban regime runs per tight codes of moral and social conduct that prevent most forms of skin show for women across the board. For instance, the faces of female models on street hoardings and outside beauty parlours have been whitewashed in the capital of Kabul, while women have been dictated to compulsorily wear the hijab and move only with a mahram (male companion) in public.

Prostitution as a profession is illegal and punishable by law in Afghanistan, even without Taliban diktats. The 'criminality' of it is considerably higher in the case of unmarried women since the country penalises sex outside marriage (or zina).

Despite laws, prostitution and trafficking have reportedly sustained in Afghanistan, largely as discreet practices, pushed by poverty, conflicts and basic survival. In a report by The Guardian published June 2021, NGOs in Afghanistan say "hundreds" of prostitutes work in Kabul and women are often "deceived into the business."

Image: John Crozier / Unsplash

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