Women | The Taliban police command in Samangan says a woman was beaten to death with a stick by her husband on Sunday and that he has been arrested

ACW | November 2, 2026 — A woman in Afghanistan's northern Samangan province was beaten to death with a stick by her husband on Sunday, November 1, the Taliban's provincial police command said.

Heshmatullah Rahmani, spokesman for the Taliban police command in Samangan, said the woman died that afternoon from a head wound. His remarks were carried by Etilaatroz and Shafaqna Afghanistan, and Rukhshana Media reported the same details from the police command's bulletin.

The husband has been arrested on a murder charge and the investigation is continuing, Rahmani said. He cited "family problems" as the motive. The Taliban gave no further details about the woman's identity.

The account comes only from the Taliban and has not been confirmed by any source independent of them. ACW has not seen the text of the police command's bulletin directly.

Background: Killings of women and girls by family members have risen sharply in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, Rukhshana Media said.

Why it matters: Under the Taliban courts' penal rules, domestic violence is treated as a crime only when a woman has a broken bone or visible injuries, according to Etilaatroz.

ACW will continue to follow this story.

Primary source: Taliban police command in Samangan (spokesman Heshmatullah Rahmani), via Etilaatroz, Rukhshana Media and Shafaqna Afghanistan

Photo: Rukhshana Media (illustrative)