Afghanistan: Taliban Penal Code Permits Men to Beat Wives

Does the Taliban Penal Code institutionalize repression or simply expand existing Sharia procedures fairly?

Published 7 hours ago

Afghanistan: Taliban Penal Code Permits Men to Beat Wives

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Above: An Afghan man eats lunch beside a burqa-clad woman in Faizabad district on Sept. 25, 2025. Image credit: Omer Abrar/AFP/Getty Images

The Spin

Government-critical narrative

The Taliban have institutionalized systematic repression through their Penal Code, explicitly permitting husbands to beat wives and criminalizing women who flee violence with up to three months in prison. This code excuses criminality among higher classes, while legitimizing slavery by referring to women as property of their "masters." Women face structural barriers to justice, with no legal recourse for abuse and the constant threat of Taliban prison humiliation, forcing silence.

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Pro-government narrative

The Criminal Code signifies a necessary expansion of existing Sharia-based court procedures that were in place even before the current government, not a new constitutional framework. Fixed punishments apply equally to all citizens, and individual rights cases receive fair adjudication regardless of status, with courts prepared to rule even against the Amir himself. Discretionary punishments exist solely for reformation purposes, and critics misunderstand the distinction between procedural law and constitutional rights.

Pajhwok Afghan News