Taliban’s New Criminal Code Equates Women to ‘Slaves’, Allows Physical Punishment By Husbands

A new rule implemented by the Taliban sent shockwaves across women’s rights groups across the world. The newly introduced law reportedly treats women like ‘slaves’ rather than people. It allows husbands and so-called “masters” to physically punish them, as long as they don’t break any bones or cause visible, open wounds.

The criminal code, accessed and reported on by The Independent, is reportedly called De Mahakumu Jazaai Osulnama and was distributed across courts in Afghanistan.

Women Equated With ‘Slaves’, Domestic Violence Bears Little Consequence

The code reportedly places women on the same footing as “slaves,” allowing husbands or so-called “masters” to punish them at their own discretion, including through physical violence.

Reportedly, a husband won’t face any punishment unless the beating was done with a stick and it led to severe injuries.

Read: A Look At The Women Of Afghanistan One Year After Taliban Takeover

Additionally, the burden of proof, remains with the women. Even if she manages to prove that she’s beaten up, the husband would face imprisonment for just 15 days. This is just a new addition to all the rules that discriminate against women, under the Taliban rule. 

Apart from physical beatings, the law also imposes strict rules that aim to restrict her movement and access to the outside world. Under Article 34 of the code, a woman could be jailed for up to three months if she goes to her father’s or another relative’s home without her husband’s explicit permission and refuses to return when he asks. Her relatives could also be charged with a crime for sheltering her.

This also implies that a woman may be further charged with criminal implications if she decides to flee her husband’s beating.

The new code also offers limited protection to children. It does not fully ban physical punishment by teachers, but only goes on to prohibit beatings that cause serious harm, such as broken bones, torn skin, or visible bruises, as stated in Article 30.

Segregation of Afghan Society into Rigid Groups

Another aspect of the new code was that it reportedly segregates Afghan society into rigid groups, almost like a caste-based system, where people are divided into four different categories. These are — “scholars” (ulama), “the elite” (ashraf), “the middle class”, and “the lower class”.

These sections, under which a person falls, would be crucial in determining his or her punishments when crimes are committed. Higher classes could be let go after a warning or advice, while imprisonment and corporal punishment would be meted out to lower classes, for the same crime.