The silence of a “virgin girl” in Afghanistan can be treated as consent to marriage under a new family law decree introduced by the Taliban. The 31-article regulation, titled ‘Principles of Separation Between Spouses’, was approved by Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. It outlines rules governing marriages involving minors, annulments and the authority of male guardians.
Published in mid-May, the decree sets out procedures for dissolving marriages under various religious and legal conditions. It includes cases involving child marriage, missing husbands, forced separation, breastfeeding relations and accusations of adultery, according to Afghan outlet Amu TV.
What new Taliban rules say
Under the rules, fathers and grandfathers are given authority over child marriages. The regulations also say that marriages involving female children may later be annulled after puberty, but only with the approval of a Taliban court.
Another provision says the silence of a virgin girl after puberty can be taken as consent for marriage, while silence from a boy or a previously married woman is not automatically seen the same way.
Human rights organisations say the rules further institutionalise practices that already exist in parts of Afghanistan, where families facing severe poverty arrange marriages involving very young girls in exchange for money.
Infants promised to settle debts
Some rights groups have documented cases in which infants were promised in marriage to settle debts or secure financial support. The reported amount paid for child brides ranges from $500 to $3,000.
Nearly one-third of Afghan girls are married before the age of 18, according to the charity organisation Girls Not Brides. Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban has imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls, including limits on education, employment and public participation. International rights organisations, including Amnesty International, have described the system as gender apartheid.
Reports cited by British outlet GB News also claim that Taliban legal codes do not explicitly prohibit sexual or psychological violence against women and permit husbands to physically discipline wives provided there is no visible bodily harm.
“Child marriage is not marriage in any meaningful sense. A child cannot properly consent, and treating silence as consent is dangerous because it removes a girl’s voice completely,” political commentator Fahima Mahomed told the outlet.
“As a Muslim, I would also strongly reject the idea that this reflects Islam as a whole. The Qur’an itself speaks against compulsion and mistreatment of women, so the Taliban’s position should not be presented as ‘Islamic law’ in a broad sense. “It is their political and extremist interpretation, enforced through power and fear.”
