The Taliban has enacted a controversial new 90‑page penal code that critics say effectively legalises domestic violence and entrenches systemic inequality in Afghanistan’s justice system. The legislation, signed by the group’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, has drawn severe condemnation from rights organisations and international observers.
Under the new laws, husbands are permitted to physically punish their wives and children as long as the violence does not result in “broken bones or open wounds.” In such cases of what the code terms “obscene force,” perpetrators face a maximum of 15 days’ imprisonment, and only if the victim can prove the abuse in court, as per NDTV.
Women seeking justice must present physical evidence of harm before a judge while remaining fully covered, and are required to be accompanied by their husband or a male guardian. Rights advocates say these procedural requirements make it extremely difficult for victims to pursue legal recourse.
In addition to sanctioning limited forms of domestic violence, the code imposes new constraints on women’s freedom of movement. Married women may be sentenced to up to three months in prison for visiting relatives without their husband’s prior permission.
A new social hierarchy in justice
Article 9 of the code creates a four‑tier social classification of Afghan society: religious scholars (ulama), the elite (ashraf), the middle class, and the lower class. In this system, the severity of punishment for a given crime is dictated more by the offender’s social status than by the seriousness of the offence itself.
According to NDTV, under this code, Islamic religious scholars face nothing more than advice for wrongdoing, while elites receive a court summons and guidance. Members of the middle class can be imprisoned, and those in the lower class may face both imprisonment and corporal punishment.
Critically, corporal punishment for serious offences will be administered by Islamic clerics rather than formal correctional services, further blurring the separation between religious authority and the judiciary.
Rollback of previous protections
The new penal code abolishes the 2009 Law on Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW), enacted under the former US‑backed Afghan government to provide legal protections against gender‑based violence. Critics argue that scrapping EVAW eliminates one of the few formal avenues for women to challenge abuse and seek justice.
International outcry and fear of reprisal
Human rights organisations have condemned the changes, warning that the code legitimises abuse and marginalises women and children. Rawadari, an Afghan rights group operating in exile, has urged the United Nations and other international bodies to halt enforcement of the criminal procedure code and use “all legal instruments” to prevent its implementation.
According to reports, many Afghans are too frightened to publicly criticise the code, as the Taliban has decreed that even discussing the legislation is itself an offence.
Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, described the implications of the new code as “simply terrifying,” noting that the Taliban appear confident that there will be little resistance to its enforcement.
He wrote on X, “Will the international community prove them wrong? And if so when?”
