A new Taliban decree governing marital separation effectively legitimizes child marriage and further strips women and girls of their rights and autonomy, Amnesty International said in a legal analysis of the measure.
The decree, known as Decree No. 18, the “Code on Judicial Separation of Spouses,” was published in the Taliban’s official gazette on May 14 and sets out the circumstances under which women and girls may seek separation from their husbands.
According to Amnesty International, the code preserves marriages arranged during childhood, limits the ability of women and girls to challenge such unions and strengthens the authority of male relatives over marriage decisions.
“This code further compounds the already dismal situation for the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan,” Isabelle Lassee, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for South Asia, said in a statement.
“It effectively strips them of all autonomy by eliminating any notion of consent, granting male relatives control over marital arrangements, and providing minimal avenues to challenge forced unions.”
The rights group said the decree institutionalizes practices that facilitate child marriage, including provisions that allow fathers and grandfathers broad authority to arrange marriages for minors.
Among the provisions cited by Amnesty is a clause that interprets a girl’s silence after reaching puberty as consent to marriage, a standard the organization said increases the risk of coercion and forced marriage.
The decree also recognizes some marriages arranged by extended family members as legally valid under certain circumstances.
Amnesty said the measure reinforces a male guardianship system that treats women as subjects of male authority rather than independent rights holders.
“The code reinforces a male guardianship system that centralizes authority over women’s personal lives,” Lassee said.
The organization argued that the decree violates international human rights standards protecting individuals from child and forced marriage and guaranteeing equality in marriage.
New barriers to separation
The decree also imposes significant legal obstacles on girls and women seeking to challenge or dissolve marriages, Amnesty said.
According to Amnesty, girls can contest marriages only through court approval and only after reaching puberty. Men, by contrast, generally retain the ability to divorce unilaterally without comparable judicial or procedural requirements.
The organization said the disparity reflects systematic gender discrimination within the Taliban’s legal framework.
Prior to the decree’s publication, marital disputes and separations were handled through a combination of Taliban religious decrees, interpretations of Hanafi jurisprudence and rulings by Taliban judges.
Amnesty said the new code formally codifies practices that had previously been applied inconsistently.
Afghan legal experts raise concerns
Najla Rahil, deputy head of the Independent Association of Defense Lawyers in Exile and founder of the Women’s Identity Organization, described the decree as “an openly misogynistic law” that violates the fundamental rights of women.
She said the regulations restrict women’s freedom to choose a spouse, place decisions about marriage in the hands of men and create significant barriers for women attempting to leave marriages.
Another Afghan defense lawyer, who spoke anonymously for security reasons, said the Taliban were attempting to normalize practices that limit women’s independence and human dignity.
“The Taliban have once again demonstrated that their approach toward women and children is based on restricting freedoms, undermining fundamental rights and reinforcing traditional patriarchal structures,” the lawyer said.
Part of broader restrictions
The decree is the latest in a series of measures imposed by the Taliban since returning to power in August 2021.
According to UN figures cited by Amnesty International, the Taliban have issued more than 470 decrees, directives and orders since their takeover, including at least 79 specifically targeting women and girls.
Those measures include bans on secondary and university education for girls, restrictions on women’s employment, limitations on travel and public participation, and increasingly strict rules governing dress and movement.
The decree has also drawn concern from UN officials.
Earlier this month, Georgette Gagnon, the acting head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, told the UN Security Council that Decree No. 18 violates core principles of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and children’s rights protections.
She said the measure was among a series of Taliban actions that are institutionalizing a system increasingly at odds with Afghanistan’s international human rights obligations.
Before the Taliban’s return to power, Afghanistan’s civil code set the legal age of marriage for girls at 16, while marriages involving girls younger than 15 were criminalized under the 2009 Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Those legal protections, along with family courts and institutions dedicated to addressing violence against women and child marriage, were dismantled after the Taliban takeover.
Amnesty International called on governments and international organizations to increase diplomatic pressure on the Taliban and demand the reversal of laws and policies that discriminate against women and girls.
The organization also urged the restoration of legal protections and judicial mechanisms aimed at safeguarding women’s rights in Afghanistan.
