A United Nations committee on children’s rights has condemned a new Taliban marriage decree, saying it effectively legitimizes child marriage and allows a girl’s silence to be interpreted as consent, in violation of international human rights law.
In a statement issued Monday, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child criticized Taliban over Decree No. 18, adopted earlier this year, which regulates marriage and separation under Taliban rule.
The committee said the decree effectively permits the marriage of girls upon reaching puberty and allows a girl’s silence after puberty to be interpreted as consent to marriage.
“Child marriage, where at least one party is under 18, constitutes a harmful practice and a form of forced marriage, given that children inherently lack the capacity to give full, free and informed consent to marriage,” the committee said.
The panel, composed of 18 independent child rights experts, said the decree creates a distinction between girls who have reached puberty and those who have not, using that distinction to legitimize marriage upon puberty.
“Puberty cannot be considered a basis for adulthood or legal capacity to marry,” the committee said, describing the provision as incompatible with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The criticism adds to growing international concern over Decree No. 18, which has also been condemned by UN Women and human rights organizations.
The decree marked a departure from laws in force before the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, when Afghanistan’s legal framework established a minimum marriage age and criminalized forced and child marriage.
The committee warned that child marriage exposes girls to heightened risks of violence, exploitation, early and forced pregnancy, interrupted education and long-term physical and psychological harm.
“Any legal framework that normalises or facilitates the marriage of children violates their rights, undermines their inherent dignity and deprives them of their autonomy and future opportunities,” the experts said.
The committee also linked the decree to what it described as a broader pattern of restrictions imposed on women and girls under Taliban rule, including the continued ban on secondary and higher education for girls.
“These measures have deprived millions of Afghan girls of their fundamental rights, weakened their future economic and social participation, and deepened poverty and inequality across the country,” the committee said.
The experts called on the Taliban to repeal all measures that violate children’s rights, explicitly prohibit child marriage and restore girls’ access to education and public life.
The statement comes as Afghanistan approaches five years under Taliban rule and amid mounting international criticism of policies that have sharply curtailed the rights of women and girls.
Taliban have defended Decree No. 18 as consistent with their interpretation of Islamic law. However, rights advocates and UN agencies argue that the measure weakens protections for women and children and risks normalizing child marriage in Afghanistan.
