Domestic violence that does not result in ‘broken bones or open wounds’ is now legal in Afghanistan under the Taliban’s new laws – while ‘obscene’ cases carry a maximum of just 15 days in prison
Afghanistan has ‘legalised’ domestic violence in a terrifying crackdown on women’s rights.
A new 90-page penal code introduced by the Taliban allows husbands to physically punish their wives and children – as long as the abuse does not result in “broken bones or open wounds”.
Under the new laws, a husband faces a maximum of just 15 days in prison in cases of “obscene force”, such as visible fractures or injuries. Convictions will be sought only if the wife can successfully prove the abuse in court.
A married woman can also now be jailed for up to three months if she visits her relatives without her husband’s explicit permission.
The law uses language effectively treating wives as the “property” or “slaves” of their husbands, and strips away vital protections, such as the 2009 law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW), which was introduced during the previous US-backed regime.
Campaigners from exiled Afghan human rights group Rawadari, who obtained a copy of the Taliban’s new penal code, warned in a statement that it would legitimise the “abuse, maltreatment, and punishment” of women and children – and expose them to “continued domestic violence”.
Its new limits on women’s rights to see their families also removes one of the few protections available in a country where there are few “formal and legal remedies”, they added.
Rawadari demanded the “immediate halt of the implementation of the criminal procedure code” by the Taliban courts, and called for the international community, the United Nations, and “other relevant international bodies” to “utilise all legal instruments” to prevent it coming into force.
The Taliban have placed draconian limits on the rights of women and girls since regaining power in 2021, including removing females from school past the age of 12, and bans from parks, public spaces, and businesses.
Reem Alsalem, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls, wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “The implications of this latest code for women and girls is simply terrifying. The Taliban however have understood, and understood correctly, that no one will stop them.
“Will the international community prove them wrong? And if so when?”
The Taliban’s new legal framework also signals further persecution of the nation’s many religious minorities, describing those who do not conform to the followers of the Hanafi school of thought as “heretics”.
Approximately 15% of Afghanistan’s 42 million population are not Hanafi Muslims, including Jafari Shias, Ismailis, and followers of other Islamic sects such as Ahl-e-Hadith, as well as non-Muslims like Sikhs and Hindus.
