Taliban's New Law Legalizes Slavery in Afghanistan

Does the Taliban's criminal code institutionalize slavery and inequality or faithfully implement Islamic law?

Published 15 hours ago

Taliban's New Law Legalizes Slavery in Afghanistan

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Above: An armed Taliban security personnel stands guard at a rehabilitation center in Kandahar on Nov. 17, 2025. Image credit: Sanaullah Seiam/AFP/Getty Images

The Spin

Government-critical narrative

The Taliban's new criminal code explicitly legalizes slavery and creates a rigid class hierarchy where religious scholars receive polite notifications while the poor face beatings and lashes for the same offenses. This theocratic system divides citizens into Muslims and non-Muslims, free people and slaves, men and women, granting husbands and masters legal authority to punish those beneath them. The document proves that any sharia-based legal framework inevitably produces institutionalized inequality and human bondage.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman on X 8am.media Zan Times

Pro-government narrative

The Criminal Code follows established Sharia and Hanafi jurisprudence that has existed in Afghan courts long before the current government, with fixed punishments applying equally to everyone regardless of status. Critics misunderstand that this procedural code for courts differs fundamentally from a constitution, and their objections stem from ignorance rather than legitimate legal analysis. Opposing these laws means opposing Islamic law itself, which is impermissible and constitutes a prosecutable crime.

Pajhwok Afghan News