BAHARAN LAHIB

Afghanistan – With the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, the social and legal life of women in Afghanistan has witnessed profound and unprecedented changes. The group’s rule has not only altered the country’s political structure, but has also dismantled legal and judicial frameworks and redefined Islamic laws according to its own interpretation.

In this context, the Taliban’s policy in Afghanistan’s courts has played a decisive role in shaping women’s legal status. Courts, which are the main authority for adjudicating family, criminal, and civil cases, are directly linked to women’s rights and their fate.

After the Taliban government consolidated its control, women’s presence in judicial institutions was drastically reduced, as all female judges and women working in the judiciary were dismissed from their positions.

This transformation, which excluded women from the judicial system, made their access to justice more difficult, because in a traditional society, going to male-dominated courts constitutes a cultural and security barrier for many women.

Even before the issuance of these principles, women faced imprisonment, sexual harassment, rape, murder, and public flogging for what the Taliban described as “improper hijab” or relationships outside marriage. However, with these new principles, the subjugation of women in Afghanistan has been formalized.

The implementation of these principles has had a direct impact on women’s lives in areas such as marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, and criminal cases. With many of the laws that previously supported women’s rights no longer being applied, there is growing concern that women’s rights are no longer receiving the same level of protection, especially in cases of domestic violence or forced marriage.

On the other hand, the emphasis on enforcing religious punishments and carrying some of them out publicly has made society more difficult and tense, leaving many women feeling less safe and less free.

In this context, studying the “Taliban’s Principles for the Courts” is not merely an examination of a legal document, but an analysis of the position of women within the new repressive judicial system in Afghanistan.

The Taliban Continue to Commit Violations Against Women

In this regard, Afghan women’s rights activist and psychologist Yalda Ahmad said:

“The Taliban have issued a new decision that increases the spread of violence and injustice against women. This reflects the ignorance and hatred of this group toward women, increases their brutality and oppression, and tightens the noose around our oppressed women more than before.”

She added:

“In the past, the Taliban issued many decisions that were given an Islamic religious character and imposed numerous restrictions on women and the people. These orders reflect the behavior of this group and those who promote it today and claim that it has changed and brought security. This only deepens people’s hatred toward it.”

She continued:

“The more the Taliban intensify their restrictions, the more decisions are issued against our people. Since this ignorance came to power, our people—especially women—have begun to struggle and resist in different ways, both openly and secretly. They have continued their resistance and have not remained silent.”

She concluded:

“What this ignorant Taliban, the jihadist groups, and all extremist groups against women must not forget is that the people of Afghanistan, especially women, will one day stand before them at the dawn of freedom in fair courts and bring them before the court of the people, in the hope that Afghanistan will be free from extremism.”

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