Taliban regulation legally recognizes child marriage in some cases

Taliban regulation legally recognizes child marriage in some cases
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Taliban have issued a new family law regulation that recognizes marriages involving minors as legally valid in certain circumstances, while allowing children to seek annulment after reaching puberty only through a court order.

The regulation also grants religious courts broad authority over annulments and marital disputes.

The 31-article regulation, titled “Principles of Separation Between Spouses,” was published in the Taliban’s official gazette after being approved by their leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

The document outlines rules governing the dissolution of marriages under a wide range of religious and legal conditions, including child marriage, missing husbands, apostasy, forced separation, breastfeeding relations and accusations of adultery.

The regulation also grants fathers and grandfathers broad authority over child marriages, though it says marriages may be invalidated if guardians are considered abusive, mentally unfit or morally corrupt.

Several provisions reinforce conservative guardianship rules governing women.

Human rights advocates have also expressed concern that the Taliban are increasingly codifying hard-line interpretations of Islamic jurisprudence into state regulations, further institutionalizing gender-based restrictions through the legal system.