Taliban legalises domestic violence, permits beatings till no bones broken
India Today
Women are treated in the new penal code as being on the same level as "slaves", with provisions allowing either "slave masters" or husbands to administer discretionary punishment, including beatings, to their wives or subordinates. This aspect of the code has drawn particular alarm from rights groups.
A newly introduced penal code in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan has sparked outrage and alarm among women’s rights groups. The law reportedly equates women with “slaves” and permits husbands and so-called “slave masters” to physically punish them, provided no bones are broken, or "open wounds" are inflicted, formalising sweeping restrictions under the regime.
Another provision of the penal code reportedly classifies society into multiple tiers, with punishments differing based on one’s position within this hierarchy.
The code reportedly distinguishes punishments based on whether a person is deemed “free” or a “slave,” creating what experts describe as a rigid, caste-like hierarchy within Afghan society.
Under the 90-page document, signed by the group’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, religious leaders are placed at the top, followed by elites, the middle class, and the lower class.
The new caste-based system means that if a religious scholar commits a crime, the maximum consequence is a warning or "advice". Members of the social elite may receive advice and potentially a court summons, while those in the middle class can face imprisonment. For the lower class, punishments can include both imprisonment and corporal punishment.
Women are treated in the code as being on the same level as "slaves", with provisions allowing either "slave masters" or husbands to administer discretionary punishment, including beatings, to their wives or subordinates. This aspect of the code has drawn particular alarm from rights groups.
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