The Taliban has enacted a new penal code that enshrines discriminatory practices, effectively placing women on par with slaves under Afghan law. Signed by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, the 90-page document includes provisions that differentiate punishment based on whether the offender is 'free' or 'a slave', creating a caste-like hierarchy.
The code permits husbands and 'slave masters' to mete out discretionary beatings to wives or subordinates. It encourages less serious offences to be handled through 'ta'zir' (discretionary punishment), which in practice allows husbands to beat their wives. Women seeking justice for assault must prove serious bodily harm by showing wounds to a judge while remaining fully covered and accompanied by a male chaperone—often the husband who is the perpetrator.
A legal adviser in Kabul described the process as 'extremely lengthy and difficult' for women. She recounted a case where a woman beaten by a Taliban guard while visiting her imprisoned husband was told her complaint would not be heard without her husband as chaperone—the very person she was visiting. 'She cried and shouted that death is better,' the adviser said. 'It is impossible for women to get any justice.'
The code also criminalises women who repeatedly visit their parents' home without their husband's permission, imposing a three-month prison sentence on them and any relatives who harbour them. Human rights experts note that the Taliban has neither condemned nor prohibited physical, psychological or sexual violence against women in the new law. The group has further suppressed dissent by ruling that discussing the code is itself an offence.
