Ever since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, it has been one thing after another where the human rights, democracy, free will and more are not just being challenged, but brutally ripped away from the citizens.
The ones most affected by this have been the minorities, women and children, along with anyone who stands as a risk or raises questions against the Taliban.
Recently, they introduced a new criminal code that ignited widespread condemnation from human rights groups and people around the world for what critics describe as a dramatic rollback of basic human rights and legal protections.
Instead of upholding principles like equality before the law and protections against abuse, the code formalises class-based justice, propagates gender discrimination, and incorporates language that reports claim legalise slavery, while limiting penalties for domestic violence and for other powerful men of society.
What is the Taliban’s New Criminal Code?
In 2021, the Taliban took control of Afghanistan after they toppled the Hamid Karzai government. On January 4, 2026, “Criminal Procedure Code for Courts” (De Mahakumu Jazaai Osulnama) was introduced by the Taliban, approved by their supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.
This new code consists of three parts, comprising 10 chapters and 119 articles that will govern the conduct of judicial processes in Afghanistan.
However, it has been condemned for heavily going against basic human rights, gender equality, democracy, free speech and the right to dissent by human rights advocates and reports. The Taliban has been working over the years to restrict any freedom given to the minority groups, especially women and children.
Education for girls, their right to have certain jobs, freedom of movement, access to public spaces, and more have been subject to strict restrictions and, in some cases, outright bans over the years. This new criminal code is said to do something similar.
One of the most controversial aspects of the code is its explicit division of Afghan society into four hierarchical classes under Article 9, being:
- religious scholars (ulama or mullahs),
- the elite (ashraf),
- the middle class, and
- the lower class
Under this hierarchy, the punishment for the same crime varies by class instead of the crime itself. Religious scholars who commit offences may only receive “advice” and face no meaningful punishment, elites may be summoned and warned, while the middle and lower classes face imprisonment or even corporal punishment.
According to reports, this basically means that clerics and those with power get almost total immunity, whereas the rest of Afghan citizens can face severely harsh and violent punishments for the same crimes.
Read More: “Inappropriate For Unwed Women,” New Crackdown By Taliban On Single Females
Another thing that was noticed was that Article 15 of the code states, “In case of any crime for which a ‘hadd‘ (prescribed punishment) has not been specified, ta’zir (discretionary punishment) is ruled, whether the criminal is free or a slave.”
The use of the word ‘slave is said to go against international human rights norms alogn with also giving importance to “confessions” and “testimony” for punishment instead of independent investigation.
Article 19 further has criminalised dissent, which means that any criticism of Taliban policies are now banned and punishable with 20 lashes and six months’ jail, while Article 4 permits “clerics, morality police, and citizens to flog ‘sinners’ on sight, while ‘unreformable rebels’ (baghi) can be executed outright,” as per a report by The Print.
Rukhshana Media, an Afghan women’s media organisation, also revealed how the new criminal code effectively dismantles any illusion of gender equality.
According to their report, Article 34 heavily regulates women’s mobility as it states “a woman can be imprisoned for three months just for staying at her birth family’s home without either her husband’s permission or what it calls a “Sharia-justified reason.”
If her family does not return her following a judicial order, they too become criminals subject to the same punishment. It effectively treats married women as the legal dependents of their husbands, denying them the right to choose where they live or seek refuge during family disputes or domestic conflict.”
Article 32, which is about domestic violence, only punishes the husband with 15 days of jail time, and that too only if there is visible evidence of the abuse.
As per the report, “it states that if a husband beats his wife with “obscene force” — defined narrowly as causing fractures, wounds, or visible bruises — he may be sentenced to just 15 days of imprisonment, provided the wife can prove the abuse in court.
The high evidentiary threshold and short prison term contrast sharply with other punishments in the Taliban legal system. Consensual physical contact between unrelated adults can carry one year in prison, while severe spousal violence results in barely two weeks of detention.”
The report also brings up Article 58, which states, “an apostate woman — someone who leaves Islam — can be sentenced to life imprisonment. In addition, she is to receive 10 lashes every three days until she returns to the faith.
In contrast, the Taliban penal code does not explicitly specify the punishment for male apostates. However, according to the Hanafi jurisprudential tradition that the Taliban follow, men are typically given up to three days to repent and return to Islam before facing capital punishment if they refuse to recant.”
According to a report by The RM Media, “Article 30 prohibits certain physical violence by teachers, such as bone fractures, skin lacerations, or bruising, but does not prohibit other forms of physical, psychological, or sexual abuse. Article 48 allows fathers to punish ten-year-old sons “for their welfare,” such as for skipping prayers.”
There is also punishment for dancers, with Article 59 stating “that dancers—male or female—and their audiences are criminals, punishable by two months in prison each.”
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: The Print, The Diplomat, The Guardian
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This post is tagged under: Taliban, Taliban crimes, Taliban afghanistan, Afghanistan, Taliban criminal code, Taliban new criminal code, Taliban women, Taliban minorities, Taliban human rights
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