Taliban ‘legitimising child marriage’ with new edict, activists warn

Child marriage appears to have been legally recognised for the first time by the Taliban in Afghanistan, as activists say “shameful” new laws make it almost impossible for girls and young women to seek divorce against their husbands’ will.

There are no official statistics on forced and underage marriages in Afghanistan, but activists say it has risen at an alarming rate in recent years, driven by the ban on girls being in education after the age of 11.

One informal estimate suggested that since the Taliban had barred them from education about 70% had been pushed into early or forced marriage and that 66% of these marriages involved girls under the age of 18.

There is no ban on child marriage in Afghanistan under the Taliban, but a new law on divorce approved last week appears to suggest that a girl who later says she was married against her will would not be permitted a divorce if her husband disagrees.

The new law also appears to suggest that a woman cannot divorce her husband solely on the grounds of his absence or failure to provide financial support.

There have been reported demonstrations against the new law in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, this week, with several women’s rights movements condemning the law as a form of systemic violence against women and children.

One activist, Fatima, said: “After issuing hundreds of anti-women decrees, the Taliban are now attempting to institutionalise child marriage within the formal legal structure.

“Instead of ensuring security and justice, the Taliban are occupied with issuing shameful misogynistic decrees and suppressing human freedoms.”

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) also expressed concern over the legislation. “The decree, which codifies principles governing the separation of spouses, represents another step in the erosion of Afghan women and girls’ rights and further entrenches systemic discrimination in law and practice.”

Georgette Gagnon of UNAMA said the new law was “part of a broader and deeply concerning trajectory in which the rights of Afghan women and girls are being eroded … [it] entrenches a system in which Afghan women and girls are denied autonomy, opportunity and access to justice.”