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.

By Elian Peltier

Taliban ‘legitimising child marriage’ with new edict, activists warn

Up to 70% of girls may be in early or forced marriages but law now makes divorce impossible if husbands disagree Child marriage appears to have been legally recognised for the first time by the Taliban in Afghanistan, as activists say “shameful” new laws make it almost impossible for girls and young women to seek divorce against their husbands’ will. There are no official statistics on forced and underage marriages in Afghanistan, but activists say it has risen at an alarming rate in recent y...

By Zahra Joya

UN gravely concerned by an Afghan Taliban law that has provisions on child marriage

The United Nations expressed "grave concern" on Thursday about a new law issued by Afghanistan's Taliban government on separation in marriage which includes provisions on child marriage.

By The Associated Press

UN ‘concerned’ over Taliban law that includes child marriage provision

The United Nations expressed “grave concern” on Thursday about a new law issued by Afghanistan’s Taliban government on separation in marriage which includes provisions on child marriage, saying the code further entrenches discrimination against women and girls. The government rejected the accusations, saying the decree follows Islamic law and insisting the country has already banned the forced marriage of girls. Afghanistan’s justice ministry published Decree No 18 “on judicial separation of...

By Associated Press

UN Flags 'Grave Concern' Over Taliban Law Allowing Child Marriage

Women and girls face widespread discrimination in Afghanistan, with laws dictating how they must dress and behave. They are banned from secondary school and universities and from most jobs