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The United Nations expressed “grave concern” connected Thursday (May 21, 2026) astir a caller instrumentality issued by Afghanistan's Taliban authorities connected separation successful matrimony which includes provisions connected kid marriage, saying the codification further entrenches favoritism against women and girls.
The authorities rejected the accusations, saying the decree follows Islamic instrumentality and insisting the state has already banned the forced matrimony of girls.
Afghanistan's Justice Ministry published Decree No. 18 “on judicial separation of spouses” past week, which sets retired rules for separation of a joined couple.
Among its astir arguable provisions, it says that the soundlessness of a miss reaching puberty tin beryllium interpreted arsenic consent to marriage. It besides includes a conception connected the separation of girls who scope puberty and are married, which “implies that kid matrimony is permitted,” the United Nations Assistance Mission successful Afghanistan (UNAMA) said successful a statement.
“This undermines the rule of escaped and afloat consent and failing to safeguard the champion interests of the child,” it said.
The decree stipulates that a matrimony tin beryllium ruled invalid “if a begetter oregon gramps has fixed a insignificant miss oregon lad without immoderate dowry, not capable dowry oregon obscene embezzlement.” It besides says that a miss fixed distant successful matrimony by her begetter oregon gramps to a antheral who “has not treated her with kindness oregon is well-known for his atrocious choices...has the close to attack the tribunal to cancel the matrimony declaration upon reaching puberty."
However, if a miss asks her hubby for a divorcement and helium denies it, “then successful this case, determination are nary witnesses with the girl, the husband's connection is valid,” the caller instrumentality says. She does not request witnesses if she makes the petition earlier a judge.
Women and girls already look wide favoritism successful Afghanistan, with laws dictating however they indispensable formal and behave. They are banned from secondary schoolhouse and universities and from astir jobs, arsenic good arsenic from astir each leisure activities, including gyms, quality salons and adjacent from nationalist parks.
“Decree No. 18 is portion of a broader and profoundly concerning trajectory successful which the rights of Afghan women and girls are being eroded,” said Georgette Gagnon, the U.N.'s Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and serviceman successful complaint of UNAMA.
While the instrumentality allows for women to abstracted from their husbands, it makes it overmuch harder for them to bash truthful than it does for men.
The decree “operates successful a profoundly unequal framework: portion men clasp the unilateral close to divorce, women indispensable prosecute analyzable and restrictive judicial avenues to abstracted from a spouse,” UNAMA said. “This concern reinforces structural favoritism and limits women's autonomy successful matters cardinal to their dignity, safety, and well-being.” After seizing powerfulness successful Afghanistan pursuing the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-backed forces successful 2021, the Taliban announced definite constricted rights for women, issuing a decree that included the close for women to an inheritance and to garbage marriage. However, “successive decrees person undermined these protections,” UNAMA said.
The myriad restrictions imposed by the authorities “have deprived millions of Afghan women and girls of their close to education, weakened economical participation, and deepened poverty, with semipermanent consequences for Afghanistan's development,” it added.
The objections from “those who contradict the religion of Islam are not caller and we should not wage attraction to them,” Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Afghan government, told the RTA authorities broadcaster successful an interview.
Mujahid noted that Afghanistan's ultimate person Hibatullah Akhundzada has already issued a erstwhile decree that bans the forced matrimony of girls. Afghan courts and the country's ministry of vice and virtuousness person investigated thousands of specified cases successful the past twelvemonth alone, helium said, “which shows the Islamic Emirate's interest for women's rights.”
