Taliban Leader Declares Wife Beating ‘Legal’ Under New Penal Code
According to a report by The Telegraph, Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban administration, has declared the beating of wives by their husbands legal under specific conditions in a new 60-page penal code. A copy of this document has been distributed to courts across the country, defining such actions as a form of judicial punishment ‘ta’zir’ rather than a criminal offense.
Under this law, a man is permitted to beat his wife, provided there are no visible signs of broken bones or wounds. Even if serious injury is proven, the maximum penalty for the man is up to 15 days in prison; a measure that, according to observers, effectively creates broad immunity from punishment.
The report highlights that the complaint process for women is structured in a way that makes proving violence almost impossible. According to the document, a woman must personally appear before a male judge, fully veiled and accompanied by a male guardian, to show her injuries—despite many domestic violence cases involving the male guardian as the perpetrator.
Article 34 of the law also states that a woman who, without her husband’s permission, seeks refuge in her parents’ home—even to escape violence—faces up to three months in prison. Family members who shelter her are subject to the same punishment.
The Taliban administration has announced that women who disobey these regulations will be arrested and imprisoned. Furthermore, criticism of the laws enacted by this administration is also criminalized, a move that has heightened concerns about further restrictions on freedom of expression and fundamental citizen rights, especially for women.
These developments come as the Taliban administration had previously included provisions in the ‘Penal Code of the Courts’ recognizing slavery and dividing society into different classes—issues that have drawn widespread domestic and international criticism.
