The United Nations Women’s entity has said that the Taliban’s new directive titled the “Regulation on Separation of Spouses” has raised serious concerns regarding the rights, safety, and legal status of women and girls.
In a report published on Tuesday, 5 Jowza, the UN Women agency stated that this regulation may pave the way for an increase in child marriages and the expansion of further restrictions on women.
UN Women added that the regulation was announced at a time when Afghanistan is approaching the fifth year of Taliban rule.
The report notes that although the regulation defines the conditions for separation between husband and wife, women face more complex legal obstacles than men in completing this process.
It is also stated that no minimum age for marriage has been set in this regulation, a factor that, according to the UN, increases the risk of normalizing child marriage.
UN Women recalled that previous laws in Afghanistan had established a minimum age for marriage and helped prevent child and forced marriages.
According to the report, the new regulation has made the process of divorce or separation more difficult for women and, in some cases, requires multiple witnesses and strict legal conditions for registration.
The agency emphasized that this situation highlights the legal inequality between men and women and called on the international community to take serious action to protect the rights of Afghan women and girls.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
