Domestic violence that does not result in ‘broken bones or open wounds’ is now legal in Afghanistan under new Taliban laws – while ‘indecent’ cases carry a maximum of 15 days in jail
Domestic violence that results in ‘no broken bones’ is now legal in the country (file photo) (Image: Getty Images)
Afghanistan has ‘legalised’ domestic violence in a horrific 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 15 days in jail in cases of “obscene force”, such as visible fractures or injuries. Conviction will be sought only if the wife can successfully prove 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 express permission.
New laws introduced by Taliban classify wives as ‘property’ of their husbands (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The law effectively uses language treating wives as “property” or “slaves” of their husbands and strips away important 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 the exiled Afghan human rights group Rawdari, who received a copy of the Taliban’s new penal code, warned in a statement that it would legalise the “abuse, abuse and punishment” of women and children – and expose them to “continued domestic violence”.
She said its new limits on women’s rights to see their families also remove nearly all protections available in a country where “formal and legal remedies” are scarce.
Rawdari demanded “an immediate halt to the implementation of the Code of Criminal Procedure” by Taliban courts and called on the international community, the United Nations and “other relevant international bodies” to “use all legal instruments” to prevent it from being implemented.
The Taliban have imposed harsh limits on the rights of women and girls since seizing power in 2021, including expelling women over the age of 12 from school and banning them from parks, public spaces and businesses.
Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, wrote on
“Will the international community prove them wrong? And if so, when?”
The Taliban’s new legal framework also signals further persecution of the country’s many religious minorities, describing as “heretics” those who do not conform to followers of Hanafi ideology.
About 15% of Afghanistan’s population of 42 million are not Hanafi Muslims, including followers of other Islamic sects such as Jafari Shias, Ismailis and Ahl-e-Hadith, as well as non-Muslims such as Sikhs and Hindus.
