05/19/2026
Very disturbing news from the Spontaneous Movement of Afghan Women.
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THE TALIBAN: FROM MISOGYNY TO PE******IA
In May 2026, the Taliban took a step beyond misogyny and officially legitimized pe******ia by publishing the "Spousal Separation" code in Official Gazette No. 1489. This 31-article document, approved by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, has legalized child marriage in Afghanistan. The document states that if a relative other than the father or paternal grandfather arranges the marriage of a minor boy or girl, the contract is declared "valid."
Currently, there is no minimum legal age for marriage in Afghanistan. Before the Taliban's return to power in 2021, the minimum marriage age for girls was set at 16. However, the Taliban have abolished this restriction and established the sole criterion as "physical maturity," which can be determined as early as age 9.
Last year, the United Nations reported that the rate of child and forced marriage in Afghanistan has increased by up to 25%. Some estimates indicate that now between 28% and 57% of Afghan girls are married before reaching the age of 18.
In July 2025, in Helmand province, a 45-year-old man married a six-year-old girl. After the news became public, the Taliban arrested the man — but then released him with a ruling, asking him to wait until the girl turned nine before marrying her!
Poverty and economic crises have forced Afghan families to "sell" their young daughters. In a four-month survey in Herat and Badghis provinces, the UN identified at least 161 children, ranging from one month to 16 years old, who had been "sold" to other families to pay off debts or buy food.
Biologically, a child's body is not ready for pregnancy. Girls under 15 are five times more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth than women aged 20. Afghanistan already has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world — approximately 620 deaths per 100,000 live births — and child marriage worsens this statistic.
These innocent brides, themselves children in need of care, suddenly become mothers, bearing the heavy responsibility of raising a child and serving their husband's family. Early motherhood inflicts irreversible physical and psychological damage.
Another key factor exacerbating child marriage is the deprivation of girls' education and the traditional view of girls as an "economic burden." Nearly 3.5 million girls are denied education beyond the sixth grade. When girls cannot attend school, within the framework of patriarchal culture and religious teachings, early marriage becomes the only remaining "path" for their future.
Since returning to power, many Taliban members have engaged in polygamy and forced marriage with young girls. Numerous reports indicate that Taliban commanders forcibly marry daughters of families who cooperated with the former government or who belong to lower social classes. Over the past five years, many members of this group have forced young girls into marriage by threatening their parents.
When these girls dare to complain against forced marriage or being sold, they face a cold and cruel wall of "Taliban justice." The Taliban's medieval courts, completely dominated by male judges and anti-woman interpretations of Sharia law, absolutely refuse to hear the complaint of a protesting girl fleeing her husband. In these courts, the husband is always "right," and the woman is always deemed "disobedient and guilty." A girl who runs away from her husband's home is not heard but is instead accused of disobedience and forcibly returned to her husband's house — where she will certainly face beatings and even honor killings.
Since neither domestic aid organizations are permitted to operate nor any legal protective mechanism exists, these girls see only one desperate way out: fleeing home toward an unknown fate. These unfortunate girls easily become prey to human traffickers and criminal gangs, or are arrested, tortured, and imprisoned by Taliban police for running away from home, or in the worst-case scenario, are driven to su***de.
The Spontaneous Movement of Afghan Women (SMAW) needs your support and solidarity, as well as national and international human rights and children's rights organizations, to achieve the following demands:
-- This pedophilic regulation be revoked immediately and a minimum marriage age of 18 be established.
-- Secret, protected “Safe Houses” be established as quickly as possible inside Afghanistan and in neighboring countries.
-- That an emergency evacuation mechanism be created for girls whose lives are in danger, via humanitarian air and land corridors.
-- Free financial and legal support should be provided to these girls so that they can apply for asylum in third countries, and their safety and education should be prioritized.
-- International human rights organizations pressure their governments not to forcibly deport girls who have fled the hell of Taliban rule, or families, especially those with young daughters.
The future of Afghanistan is built with children, not by sacrificing them in the hell of ignorance, poverty, and violence. Silence in the face of this crime is complicity. Every girl who protests against the misogynistic and pedophilic orders of the Taliban and does not flee into submission to forced marriage is a hero and deserves support and protection.
Spontaneous Women's Movement of Afghanistan (SMAW)
May 18, 2026
Afghanistan
[email protected]
