Zincwarrior
Diamond Member
Pardon the pun by Jesus Christ. That’s sick. The Taliban are recognizing child marriage and saying, the girls can’t get divorced until puberty. What the hell is wrong with you people?
New Taliban Decree on Divorce Formalizes Child Marriage, U.N. Warns
www.nytimes.com
A decree published by the Taliban government in Afghanistan has drawn condemnation from the United Nations and human rights groups for implicitly recognizing child marriage and further eroding women’s rights.
The Taliban government, which has imposed some of the world’s toughest restrictions on women and girls since taking over Afghanistan in 2021, has rejected the accusations. It also claims to have saved thousands of women and girls from forced marriages.
Here is a look at what the decree says.
Child marriage appears implicitly allowed.
The decree regulates divorce in Afghanistan, including defining the conditions for the separation of girls who were married before puberty.
Article 5 states: “Upon reaching puberty, the minor has the option to dissolve the marriage” that a relative may have contracted for her.
Puberty generally occurs between ages 8 and 13, according to the U.S. National Institute for Health. But Zabiullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s spokesman, told The New York Times in a series of voice messages that most Afghan women reached that stage between 15 and 18.
Fereshta Abbasi, the Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, said that child marriage was legal under previous governments “but only between the ages of 15 and 16” and with the parents’ permission.
Around one in three Afghan girls were married before turning 18 before the Taliban swept back to power in 2021, according to UNICEF.
That number has been increasing in recent years, rights groups say, driven by economic hardship, limited access to courts for women, and a ban on secondary and higher education for girls.
The decree also stipulates that if a girl does not object to her arranged marriage as she reaches puberty, that will be seen as consent. Adult women — and boys — must verbally consent.
“By devoting a chapter on separation for girls who reach puberty and who are married, the decree implies that child marriage is permitted,” the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said in a statement. “It also allows for a girl’s silence as she reaches puberty to be interpreted as consent to a marriage.”
New Taliban Decree on Divorce Formalizes Child Marriage, U.N. Warns
New Taliban Decree on Divorce Formalizes Child Marriage in Afghanistan, U.N. Warns
A new Afghan law requires girls to wait until puberty before seeking to get out of a marriage. It also requires mediation for women seeking to escape an abusive husband.
A decree published by the Taliban government in Afghanistan has drawn condemnation from the United Nations and human rights groups for implicitly recognizing child marriage and further eroding women’s rights.
The Taliban government, which has imposed some of the world’s toughest restrictions on women and girls since taking over Afghanistan in 2021, has rejected the accusations. It also claims to have saved thousands of women and girls from forced marriages.
Here is a look at what the decree says.
Child marriage appears implicitly allowed.
The decree regulates divorce in Afghanistan, including defining the conditions for the separation of girls who were married before puberty.
Article 5 states: “Upon reaching puberty, the minor has the option to dissolve the marriage” that a relative may have contracted for her.
Puberty generally occurs between ages 8 and 13, according to the U.S. National Institute for Health. But Zabiullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s spokesman, told The New York Times in a series of voice messages that most Afghan women reached that stage between 15 and 18.
Fereshta Abbasi, the Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, said that child marriage was legal under previous governments “but only between the ages of 15 and 16” and with the parents’ permission.
Around one in three Afghan girls were married before turning 18 before the Taliban swept back to power in 2021, according to UNICEF.
That number has been increasing in recent years, rights groups say, driven by economic hardship, limited access to courts for women, and a ban on secondary and higher education for girls.
The decree also stipulates that if a girl does not object to her arranged marriage as she reaches puberty, that will be seen as consent. Adult women — and boys — must verbally consent.
“By devoting a chapter on separation for girls who reach puberty and who are married, the decree implies that child marriage is permitted,” the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said in a statement. “It also allows for a girl’s silence as she reaches puberty to be interpreted as consent to a marriage.”
