Taliban Decree: 'Silence of Virgin Girl' Implies Marriage Consent

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has enacted a controversial new family law regulation that dictates the 'silence of a virgin girl' can be interpreted as consent for marriage. This significant development is part of a 31-article decree titled 'Principles of Separation Between Spouses', which was officially approved by the Taliban's supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, and subsequently published in the regime's official gazette in mid-May 2026. The regulation outlines extensive rules governing various aspects of marital life, including child marriage, annulments, divorce procedures, cases involving missing husbands, forced separation, accusations of adultery, and apostasy. A particularly contentious provision, Article 7, explicitly states that the silence of a virgin girl who has reached puberty may be taken as consent to marriage. In stark contrast, the same rule does not apply to boys or to women who have been previously married, for whom silence is not automatically considered consent. This new decree effectively formalizes child marriage in certain circumstances. It rolls back the previous legal minimum marriage age of 16 that was established after the 2001 Western intervention. While it allows for a child married at a young age to seek annulment upon reaching puberty (a concept known as 'khiyar al-bulugh' or 'option upon puberty' in Islamic jurisprudence), such annulments can only be granted through a Taliban court order. The regulation also grants fathers and grandfathers broad authority over child marriages, though it suggests marriages might be invalidated if guardians are deemed abusive, mentally unfit, or morally corrupt. The introduction of this new family law further solidifies the Taliban's systematic crackdown on women's and girls' rights since they retook power in August 2021. Since then, girls have been largely barred from education beyond the sixth grade, women have been prohibited from attending universities, and severe restrictions have been imposed on their employment, movement, and public participation. International human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and the United Nations, have widely condemned these policies, with some describing the Taliban's system as a form of 'gender apartheid'. Reports indicate that economic hardship and widespread poverty in Afghanistan have exacerbated the issue of child marriage, with desperate families sometimes resorting to marrying off very young girls in exchange for money to ensure the survival of other family members. Despite a Taliban decree in December 2021 that supposedly prohibited forced marriages, the latest regulation, combined with the lack of a minimum marriage age, suggests an increase in such practices. The regulation also grants sweeping powers to Taliban religious courts to intervene in marital disputes under broad religious categories, including apostasy and accusations of adultery. These courts are authorized to enforce compliance through imprisonment and physical punishment. The pre-Taliban 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan, which guaranteed gender equality and protected family welfare, along with the Elimination of Violence Against Women Law (EVAW) of 2009, which outlawed forced marriage, are no longer enforced under the current regime. This new regulation represents another step in the Taliban's institutionalization of hard-line interpretations of Islamic jurisprudence, systematically eroding the legal protections and fundamental rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, prompting urgent calls for international intervention.

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