Afghanistan's New Penal Code Imposes Harsher Penalties for Animal Fights Than Wife-Beating
A new penal code issued by decree in Afghanistan has sparked international condemnation for establishing harsher punishments for the mistreatment of animals than for domestic violence against women, while also codifying legal inequality based on gender and social status into national law.
Decree Signed by Supreme Leader
The decree, known as Decree No. 12 and signed by Afghanistan's Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada in January, comprises 119 articles across 60 pages. It outlines penalties that United Nations officials say contravene Afghanistan's international legal obligations. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged Afghan authorities to rescind the decree during remarks to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The code explicitly removes equality between men and women before the law, according to U.N. Women Special Representative in Afghanistan Susan Ferguson. It places husbands in positions of authority over their wives and severely limits women's ability to seek protection or justice through legal channels.
Specific Penalties Highlight Gender Disparity
The decree specifies that a man who beats his wife severely enough to cause visible injuries such as cuts, wounds, or bruises faces only 15 days in prison, provided his wife can prove her case to a judge. In stark contrast, a woman who visits her father's house and stays there without her husband's permission faces three months imprisonment, with her relatives also subject to the same penalty if they fail to return her to her husband.
Meanwhile, the punishment for organizing animal or bird fights, a popular pastime in Afghanistan that was banned after the Taliban seized power in 2021, is set at five months imprisonment. This creates the disturbing situation where mistreating animals carries a penalty more than three times longer than beating one's wife.
Social Class Determines Punishment Severity
The new penal code also establishes different treatment for the same crimes depending on social class, creating a formal hierarchy of justice:
- Scholars and "high-ranking people" receive only a warning from a judge
- Tribal leaders and businessmen face a warning plus a court summons
- "Average people of society" are subject to imprisonment
- "The lower classes" face physical beatings as punishment
The decree specifies that if an offender is sentenced to the maximum 39 lashes, they must be administered to "different parts of the body." However, this class-based differential treatment does not apply in murder cases, where anyone found guilty faces the death penalty.
Broader Context of Restrictions
This penal code represents the first comprehensive legal framework issued by the Afghan government since the Taliban's return to power. It follows numerous other restrictive measures implemented by Afghan authorities, including:
- Bans on education for girls beyond primary school
- Prohibitions on women working in most employment sectors
- Mandates controlling how women should dress and behave in public
The decree also criminalizes criticism of the de facto leadership and their policies, violating fundamental freedoms of expression and assembly according to U.N. officials.
International Response and Future Implications
Speaking in Geneva, Volker Turk called on Afghan authorities to "reverse their course on excluding half the population," emphasizing that "women and girls are the present and the future, and the country cannot thrive without them."
The only other capital offense specified in the decree beyond murder is insulting the Prophet Muhammad, though in that specific case, the death penalty can be converted to six years imprisonment if the offender repents.
This penal code solidifies into formal law what human rights organizations have documented as systematic discrimination against women and marginalized social groups in Afghanistan, raising serious concerns about the country's compliance with international human rights standards and its future social cohesion.
