The Taliban's new penal code: Two weeks days in jail for breaking a woman's arm and five months for mistreating a camel

"In 119 articles, violence against women is legalized and considered a tool of social discipline and the prevention of sin or vice. Mothers, daughters, and wives become practically objects owned by a husband or a master—a word used literally in the text, as well as slave—terms that send shivers down the spines of human rights organizations, which are calling for this legal framework to be repealed."

"The Taliban have always treated women as a system of apartheid. And this new code gives men the power to be violent against them and torture them legally, according to Fawzia Koofi, a former Afghan parliamentarian and leader of Women for Afghanistan."

"Article 32 gives an idea of the prevailing defenselessness, as it states that only if the husband strikes his wife with a stick and causes a serious injury such as a wound or bruise, and the woman can prove this before a judge, will the man be sentenced to 15 days in prison. Other types of physical, psychological, and sexual violence against women are not mentioned."

Afghanistan's new penal code, implemented without public debate, contains 119 articles that legalize violence against women and treat them as property owned by husbands or masters. The code establishes punishment, surveillance, and coercion as governance tools. Women face minimal legal protection: a husband striking his wife with a stick causing serious injury results in only 15 days imprisonment, while animal mistreatment carries five-month sentences. Other forms of physical, psychological, and sexual violence remain unaddressed. Human rights organizations condemn the framework as institutionalizing apartheid against women. The absence of functional judicial systems, defense lawyers, and protective institutions renders women defenseless, as they cannot safely report abuse knowing perpetrators face minimal consequences.

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