The Taliban authorities in Afghanistan issued a decree imposing the death penalty for sodomy and permitting men to beat their wives until they break bones and leave visible, lasting wounds. Human rights activists condemn the measure as “disgraceful” and warn that women’s access to justice will be further curtailed.
The decree was issued last month but only recently attracted international attention after it was leaked to the Afghan human rights group Rawadari, which published it in the original Pashto and subsequently translated it into English. It said it was “incompatible with even the most basic standards of fair trial, including the principle of equality before the law.”
The Taliban insists that all its decisions are consistent with Islamic Sharia law and have religious legitimacy.
“If a husband beats his wife so severely that it results in a broken bone, or an open wound, or a black and blue wound appears on her body, and the wife appeals to a judge, then the husband will be considered an offender,” the code claims, according to the Afghan Analysts Network’s translation. “A judge should sentence him to 15 days’ imprisonment.”
Human rights activists warn that the new law puts women in Afghanistan at even greater risk, as they are not legally allowed to leave their homes without a male escort, and Sharia law in Afghanistan states a woman’s testimony is worth half that of a man’s. Therefore, the new law will prevent women from seeking justice even in cases of serious physical violence.
They say that the doctrine’s definition of a Muslim gives authorities broad latitude to punish religious minorities in this diverse country.
The United Nation’s top human rights official, Volker Türk, told the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday the decree was “legitimising violence against women and children,” and warned that “Afghanistan is a graveyard for human rights.
“Afghanistan’s women and girls face extreme gender-based discrimination and oppression that amounts to persecution. The system of segregation is reminiscent of apartheid, based on gender rather than race.”
The decree also permits a father to punish his child for, among other things, failing to pray. The punishment for a teacher who beats a student so severely to the point of breaking a bone consists of being suspended from his job. The punishment for animal cruelty is more severe: anyone who forces animals such as dogs or roosters to fight must be sentenced to five months in prison, the decree says. The decree restricts freedom of speech. Anyone who insults the Taliban leader is to receive 39 lashes and a year in prison, and anyone who humiliates high-ranking officials is subject to six months in prison and 20 lashes.
The death penalty is also prescribed for a wide range of crimes. A judge or imam may sentence to death anyone who spreads doctrines “contrary to Islam” and anyone who “persistently” engages in theft, homosexuality, heresy, sorcery, or anything other than vaginal sex.
