Taliban legalizes sickening child marriages with 'rules' in Afghanistan

Key Points:

• The Taliban has officially legitimized child marriages in Afghanistan through a new family law decree called “Principles of Separation Between Spouses,” which includes provisions treating girls as property and allowing marriages involving minors.
• The decree permits families to arrange marriages for infant girls, sometimes as young as 20 days old, often as a means to alleviate poverty, with child brides reportedly sold for $500 to $3,000.
• Under the new rules, child brides may seek annulment upon reaching puberty, but only with Taliban court approval, and the silence of a “virgin girl” can be interpreted as consent to marriage.
• The regulations grant fathers and grandfathers authority over child marriages and set complex religious and legal conditions for dissolving marriages, while allowing husbands to beat wives as long as no visible bodily harm occurs.
• Human rights advocates and commentators condemn the decree as a dangerous, extremist interpretation of Islam that violates girls' rights and enforces gender oppression under the Taliban regime.