Taliban approve new criminal code allowing “limited” domestic violence, deepening curbs on Afghan women

Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have approved a new criminal procedure code that permits husbands and fathers to beat women and children provided the assault does not result in visible fractures or open wounds, according to documents circulated to courts nationwide.

Cleared by the group’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, the 90-page text also introduces a tiered justice system in which a person’s social and religious status determines the punishment they receive.

Women seeking legal redress must appear in court fully covered and accompanied by a male guardian, a requirement rights groups say makes prosecution nearly impossible, especially when the alleged abuser is also the mandated escort.

Under the new provisions, married women can be jailed for visiting their parental homes without their husband’s consent. Clerics are largely shielded from corporal punishment, while those lower in the social hierarchy remain vulnerable to imprisonment and public flogging.

The code replaces the 2009 Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) law enacted under former president Hamid Karzai, which had criminalised a wide spectrum of gender-based abuse, including forced marriage, sexual assault and domestic violence, even when injuries were not physically visible. United Nations experts have called the new framework “terrifying”, urging its immediate repeal.

Earlier laws

These legal changes are the latest in a series of decrees issued over the past year that have reshaped nearly every aspect of women’s lives, from education and employment to mobility, healthcare and access to justice, steadily pushing them out of public life.

Girls remain barred from attending school beyond the primary level, and women are prohibited from universities and entrance examinations. Entire professional streams, from engineering and journalism to agriculture and veterinary sciences, have been closed to them. In several provinces, local directives have further tightened restrictions, reportedly preventing older girls from attending even lower grades. The curriculum itself has been altered, with secular subjects reduced and religious instruction expanded, narrowing future employment prospects.

Employment opportunities have shrunk in parallel. Women have been removed from most government positions and restricted from working with non-governmental organisations and UN agencies, once a crucial source of income and services. Many female-run small businesses have been forced to shut, and women have disappeared from public-facing roles such as aviation and media.

Daily movement is now tightly controlled through the enforcement of the mahram rule, which requires women to travel with a close male relative for longer distances. In some areas, women cannot access hospitals, public transport or government offices on their own. They have also been barred from parks, gyms and bathhouses, further confining them to their homes.

Dress codes have been strictly policed, with institutions in several regions requiring full-body coverings. Enforcement has extended to male relatives, who can face workplace penalties if women in their families are deemed non-compliant.

At the same time, the institutional mechanisms that once offered protection have been dismantled. Shelters for survivors of gender-based violence have been closed, legal aid networks disbanded and women lawyers denied licences, leaving complainants with little chance of pursuing cases in a male-dominated judicial system that often treats domestic abuse as a private matter.

Punishments for so-called “moral crimes” have grown harsher, with public floggings and prison terms imposed for adultery or alleged illicit relationships, offences that disproportionately affect women.

These measures follow the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, when the group swept into Kabul as United States and NATO forces withdrew and the Western-backed government collapsed. These measures follow the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, when the group swept into Kabul as United States and NATO forces withdrew and the Western-backed government collapsed. These measures follow the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, when the group swept into Kabul as United States and NATO forces withdrew and the Western-backed government collapsed. The takeover triggered a humanitarian and economic crisis and prompted thousands of Afghans, particularly women professionals, activists, journalists and students, to flee, fearing a repeat of the repression that marked the Taliban’s first rule in the late 1990s. Many who remained initially hoped earlier promises of moderation would translate into policy; instead, successive edicts have tightened controls.

Women have also been removed from political and judicial posts, while protests led by women’s rights activists have been met with arrests, enforced disappearances and reports of mistreatment in detention. Female journalists face severe censorship and strict on-air dress requirements, forcing many out of the profession.

International rights groups say the cumulative effect of the new legal code and earlier decrees amounts to systematic gender-based discrimination that could meet the threshold for crimes against humanity. As restrictions continue to expand, Afghan women and girls face diminishing access to education, livelihoods, healthcare and legal remedies, raising concerns about the country’s long-term social and economic future.