UN Condemns Taliban Decree Legalizing Child Marriage
The head of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has condemned the Taliban’s recent decree on child marriage, particularly affecting girls, as contrary to international human rights standards and legitimizing child marriage. Sophie Kiladze described the move as a “direct challenge to international norms” and emphasized that the Taliban’s lack of international legitimacy does not nullify Afghanistan’s human rights obligations.
Kiladze stated in an interview with Arab News on Saturday, June 6th, that child marriage is not a cultural or private matter but a vital child rights issue. She noted that the provision permitting marriage after puberty and interpreting silence from girls as consent is inconsistent with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Earlier, on May 14th, the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice announced that the “Spouses Separation Regulation” was published in the official gazette after being endorsed by Hibatullah Akhundzada. In addition to defining conditions for annulment of marriage and custody rules, the document addresses child marriage and has received widespread criticism from international organizations since its publication.
One controversial aspect of the regulation concerns consent to marriage. According to the new rules, a girl’s silence after reaching puberty may be interpreted as consent to marriage — a provision that does not apply to boys and has been viewed as discriminatory by human rights groups.
The UN Committee chair challenged the concept of puberty, stating that it cannot be equated with adulthood or the legal age for marriage. Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, anyone under 18 is considered a child and inherently lacks the legal capacity to consent to marriage.
Kiladze also warned that the decree could violate multiple core principles of the Convention, including the rights to education, health, protection from violence, and the right to be heard. Referring to the continued ban on secondary education for girls imposed by the Taliban, she noted that keeping girls in school significantly reduces the risk of early marriage.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has previously called on the Taliban administration to repeal laws related to child marriage and to protect the fundamental rights of children throughout Afghanistan.
