The Taliban government in Afghanistan has implemented a new criminal code, raising concerns among human rights groups. This law will create difficulties for women. Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has also signed it. The 90-page criminal code incorporates old provisions from Islamic scriptures, granting top religious leaders near-criminal immunity and imposing the harshest punishments on working-class people.
What Are The Provisions In This Law?
This law effectively equates women with slaves. It states that either slave owners or husbands can inflict discretionary punishments on their wives, such as beatings.
The law divides society into strict classes, places religious scholars above legal scrutiny, and allows husbands and fathers to physically punish women and children within certain limits.
The law also provides for up to three months' imprisonment for women who visit relatives without their husbands' permission and recognises practices known as 'slavery'.
'No Broken Bones And No Skin Cuts'
The law states that for serious crimes, corporal punishment will be administered by Islamic clerics, not correctional services. Furthermore, for less serious offenses, a husband can punish his offending wife by beating her.
This law provides a way to seek justice for women who are attacked, but they must show their injuries to a judge to prove that they have suffered serious bodily harm and remain fully covered.
Not only this, under the new code, even if an Afghan woman overcomes all the legal and social hurdles and proves that her husband has seriously assaulted her, the husband will still be given a maximum sentence of 15 days.