Beat wife, but don’t break her bones: No surprises in Taliban’s new penal code
Although the code technically allows women to seek legal recourse if assaulted, it sets high barriers. Women must present evidence of serious bodily harm by displaying their injuries to a judge, while remaining fully covered and accompanied by their husband. (Image used for representation)
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A newly issued penal code in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan has sparked widespread alarm among women’s rights advocates, who say it entrenches discrimination and strips away legal protections for women and lower-status groups.
According to rights organisations and legal experts, the code places women on the same legal level as “slaves” and allows husbands or so-called “masters” to impose discretionary punishment — including beatings — as long as they do not cause broken bones or open wounds. Critics warn this formalises sweeping restrictions already imposed under the Taliban regime.
The roughly 90-page document, reportedly signed by the movement’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, also divides society into rigid tiers. Religious scholars are placed at the top, followed by elites, the middle class and the lower class. Punishments vary sharply by status: clerics may receive only a warning for crimes, elites can face advice or a court summons, the middle class may be jailed, and the lowest tier can be subjected to both imprisonment and corporal punishment.
Women are classified within the lowest stratum alongside enslaved people. Rights groups say this classification allows husbands to carry out “ta’zir” — discretionary punishment — against wives deemed to have committed minor offences.
Although the code technically permits women to report assault, the barriers are severe. A woman must show visible serious injuries to a judge while fully veiled and accompanied by a male guardian, even if her husband is the accused. A legal adviser in Kabul told The Independent that the process is “extremely lengthy and difficult,” recounting a case in which a woman assaulted by a Taliban guard could not file a complaint because her imprisoned husband — required as her chaperone — could not attend.
Under the new rules, serious crimes are handled by clerics rather than state correctional systems. Even when women overcome procedural obstacles and prove severe abuse, the maximum sentence for a husband is reportedly 15 days. Human-rights specialists note the code does not explicitly outlaw physical, psychological or sexual violence against women.
The exile-based rights group Rawadari highlighted another provision that criminalises women who repeatedly stay with relatives without their husband’s permission. Under Article 34, both the woman and any relatives who shelter her can face up to three months in prison.
Copies of the code — known as De Mahakumu Jazaai Osulnama — have reportedly been distributed across Afghan courts. Many citizens are reluctant to discuss its contents, fearing retaliation, and a separate directive is said to ban public discussion of the law.
Legal experts say the code marks a sharp regression from protections introduced under the previous NATO-backed government, which had criminalised forced marriage, rape and domestic violence. Observers add that while the Taliban frame the hierarchy in religious terms, explicitly codifying caste-like status and gender-based punishment represents a major break from recent Afghan legal standards.
Human-rights organisations warn the new penal code institutionalises inequality and leaves women and lower-status Afghans with little realistic access to justice.
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