This month marks the five year anniversary of the Taliban regaining power in Afghanistan. It is an important moment to reflect on the state of the country, especially the horrific state of women’ s rights. Women’s rights are a disaster the situation is getting worse. This is seen in the marriage decree in May and how it reflects the increasingly restrictive circumstances that women and girls live under in Afghanistan.
The Marriage Code
In May, the Islamic Emirate’s Ministry of Justice officially published Decree No.18 “Code on Judicial Separation of Spouses”. The decree allows male relatives to marry off women once they reach puberty. It also considers a woman’s silence to be consent to marriage.
Whilst the decree does allow some parameters for divorce these all require the consent of a man. This includes the husband’s consent (including in cases of abuse and neglect), the discretion of a judge, the testimony of witnesses, or the power of male relatives. Whilst there is still a possibility for women to divorce through khula (in which the woman pays the man to separate) this has been severely restricted with the code not providing a minimum payment which must be accepted. Due to these parameters women have essentially no power in seeking a divorce even in the most extreme circumstances.
Naturally, the decree has been widely condemned by the international community. The decree places both women and girls under serious danger of domestic violence. It has also been criticised for being extreme even within Taliban policy. The rules are a contradiction of a previous decree in 2021 which stated that women should not be considered property or being forced into marriage.
The Taliban’s Tightening Grip
The legislation is reflective of the increased authority the Taliban have been able to exert over Afghanistan. Despite economic and humanitarian disasters (which have been previously covered by the NCF), as well as ongoing border disputes with Pakistan, the Taliban have secured control of all of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. This is something that they were unable to accomplish in their first administration during which their power was focused in the South. Whilst there is still some internal resistance to the government, such as from the National Resistance Front, it is geographically isolated and has had a minimal impact.
The Taliban currently exert more authority than ever.
The increasing stability of the Islamic Emirate has come at the expense of women. The last five years have seen a severe erosion in women’s rights (especially urban women) in all aspects of life. Gender Apartheid now exists in the country and this code shows that this is not going away. Instead, it reflects how gender policies have become worse as the hardline factions in the Taliban continue to exert authority over the issue.
What Role is there for the International Community?
All of this is a clear reflection of the simple fact: the isolation of Afghanistan is not working. Taliban strength and influence has only increased, women’s rights continue to be restricted and the cutting of foreign aid has led to a severe humanitarian crisis.
The issue is what to do about it. The five year anniversary has led to reflections on how to engage with the Islamic Emirate. Whilst Russia is so far the only country to officially recognise the Islamic Emirate the likes of India, China and their Central Asian neighbours have strengthened pragmatic diplomatic ties with the country.
Reflections on the anniversary in the West has led to two responses. The first calls for countries who engage with the Taliban to sever their ties with the government, believing that Taliban authority has been overexaggerated and that they will be too weak to survive without foreign support. The second argues that the West is “losing the argument” over recognition. The West therefore have to increase engagement to have any sort of influence over the country.
Whilst there are plenty of reasons to reconsider Afghanistan’s isolation it is important to note that a dialogue on women’s rights will be extremely difficult. The Taliban seem to be willing to discuss issues such as trade and refugees but they are deeply reluctant to discuss women’s rights. In their first administration they were unwilling to listen to the opinions of outsiders on the issue. This ranged from UN mediators to Islamic scholars (more details on this can be found in Ahmed Rashid’s book Taliban: Islam, Oil and the Great Game in Central Asia). Given their continuing extreme stance on this issue it seems unlikely that they will be willing to listen now.
It is also unclear how foreign diplomats will be able to gain the meaningful access required to facilitate change. The Taliban are a notoriously secretive organisation who are extremely wary of outside influence. There is very limited access to their leader, Mullah Hibatullah, even amongst senior officials making dialogue very difficult.
Despite these concerns we should not give up. The people of Afghanistan are desperate and need help. The severity of the apartheid is only getting worse. Action must be taken, no matter how unlikely the outcome. Therefore, any future engagement with the country cannot ignore the issue of women’s rights and any diplomatic channels, no matter how small, must be explored.
Conclusion
The current stance on Afghanistan has been a failure. The Taliban are here to stay and women are suffering. There is therefore a need to rethink the stance that nations (especially Western nations) have taken on Afghanistan. However, if we are going to open up ties we cannot simply focus on the issues that the Taliban are willing to discuss. Women’s rights must be an essential component of any future diplomatic mission. Even if there is only a slim chance that change can be accomplished the situation is so grave that it has to be pushed for.
This is not just a Western issue. The NCF calls on countries that currently have ties with Afghanistan to not simply focus on issues such as trade and refugees but to also emphasise women’s rights. It also calls for the championing of NGOs and activist groups (many of whom are linked in this piece) who are doing vital work on the issue. It is essential that as much pressure as possible be exerted on the Taliban. The issue of women is escalating. Action therefore needs to be taken to prevent further restrictions to freedoms and hopefully bring about the unwinding of the Taliban’s brutal policies.
Image above taken by UN and has creative commons license
