Taliban’s new law legalises domestic violence against wives, children as long as no 'broken bones' occur

Taliban’s new law allows domestic violence without “broken bones”: key details

The Taliban has introduced a new 90-page criminal code that “legalises” domestic violence against women, allowing husbands to beat their wives and children as long as it does not cause “broken bones or open wounds”.

Signed by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, the law replaces earlier protections for women and restructures punishments based on social status.

Domestic violence provisions

Under the code, husbands may use physical punishment in certain situations. Even in cases involving visible injuries, the maximum penalty is 15 days in prison, and only if the woman proves the abuse in court.

To do so, the woman must present her injuries before a judge while remaining fully covered and be accompanied by a male guardian, often the same husband accused of the violence.

The rules also restrict women’s movement. A married woman can face up to three months in jail for visiting relatives without her husband’s permission.

The law abolishes the 2009 Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) legislation enacted under the previous US-backed government.

Punishment based on social class

The code divides society into four categories, religious scholars, elite, middle class and lower class, and assigns penalties accordingly:

• Religious scholars: advice only
• Elite: summons and advice
• Middle class: imprisonment
• Lower class: imprisonment and corporal punishment
• Corporal punishments for serious offences will be carried out by clerics rather than prison authorities.

Fear and criticism

Rights groups say people inside Afghanistan are afraid to speak publicly about the code after authorities warned that discussing it could itself be an offence.

Exiled Afghan rights organisation Rawadari called for an “immediate halt of the implementation of the criminal procedure code” and urged international bodies to “utilise all legal instruments” to stop it.

Reem Alsalem, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, wrote on X, "The implications of this latest code for women and girls is simply terrifying. The Taliban however have understood, and understood correctly, that no one will stop them. Will the international community prove them wrong? And if so when?"

The Taliban has not publicly responded to international criticism of the new legal framework.