UN grave – The United Nations said it is in “grave concern” over a new Taliban decree on separation in marriage, citing provisions that could allow child marriage. Afghanistan’s Taliban government rejected the criticism, saying the decree follows Islamic law and that for
KABUL — The decree arrived quietly, but its consequences—at least as the United Nations reads them—could be anything but. In a new Taliban law issued on separation in marriage. officials wrote rules that could turn a girl’s silence at puberty into a kind of permission. and it ties the validity of marriages to conditions that affect minors.
On Thursday. the United Nations expressed “grave concern” about the law. which it said further entrenches discrimination against women and girls. The UN warned that Afghanistan’s Taliban government has framed the code in ways that weaken “the principle of free and full consent” and fail to protect the best interests of children.
The measure is Afghanistan’s Decree No. 18. published by the justice ministry under the title “on judicial separation of spouses.” UN officials said its most controversial provision says that the silence of a girl reaching puberty can be interpreted as consent to marriage. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. UNAMA. said in a statement that the decree also contains a section on separation involving girls who reach puberty and are married. and that the wording “implies that child marriage is permitted.”.
The decree sets out additional conditions that could determine whether a marriage is recognized. It says a marriage can be ruled invalid if a father or grandfather has given a minor girl or boy “without any dowry. not enough dowry or obscene embezzlement.” It also states that if a girl is given away by her father or grandfather to a man who “has not treated her with kindness or is well-known for his bad choices. ” she may approach the court to cancel the marriage contract upon reaching puberty.
But UNAMA said the decree also creates unequal barriers for women seeking to leave. Under the new law. if a girl asks her husband for a divorce and he denies it. the decree says “there are no witnesses with the girl. ” and “the husband’s word is valid.” It adds that a girl does not need witnesses if she makes the request before a judge.
This is happening in a country where women and girls already face sweeping restrictions. Laws dictate how they must dress and behave. and they are banned from secondary school and universities and from most jobs. They are also blocked from nearly all leisure activities, including gyms, beauty salons, and even public parks.
“This undermines the principle of free and full consent and failing to safeguard the best interests of the child. ” UNAMA said. Georgette Gagnon. the UN’s Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and officer in charge of UNAMA. added that Decree No. 18 is part of a “broader and deeply concerning trajectory” that erodes women and girls’ rights.
UNAMA said the decree “operates in a deeply unequal framework.” It pointed out that while men keep a unilateral right to divorce. women must pursue “complex and restrictive judicial avenues” to separate from a spouse. In UNAMA’s view. that approach reinforces structural discrimination and limits women’s autonomy in matters tied to “dignity. safety. and well-being.”.
After the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan following the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-backed forces in 2021. the group announced certain limited rights for women. Those included a decree recognizing women’s right to inheritance and the right to refuse marriage. UNAMA said “successive decrees have undermined these protections. ” and argued that the expanding restrictions have deprived “millions of Afghan women and girls of their right to education. ” weakened economic participation. and deepened poverty—effects it said could harm Afghanistan’s development for years to come.
Afghanistan’s Taliban government rejected the accusations. Zabihullah Mujahid. a spokesman for the Afghan government. told the RTA state broadcaster that objections from “those who contradict the religion of Islam are not new and we should not pay attention to them.” He said the decree follows Islamic law and insisted the country already has bans on forced marriage of girls.
Mujahid also pointed to Afghanistan’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. saying he has already issued a previous decree that bans the forced marriage of girls. Mujahid added that Afghan courts and the country’s ministry of vice and virtue have investigated thousands of cases involving forced marriage in the past year alone. which he said shows “the Islamic Emirate’s concern for women’s rights.”.
Afghanistan Taliban United Nations UNAMA Decree No. 18 judicial separation of spouses child marriage puberty consent women's rights divorce Hibatullah Akhundzada Zabihullah Mujahid