Overview
- Afghanistan’s Justice Ministry published Decree No. 18 in mid‑May, formally setting new rules for judicial separation and defining who counts as able to marry.
- The decree links marriage eligibility to puberty and says a ‘virgin girl’s’ silence at puberty can be read as consent, a change rights groups say removes a fixed minimum age for girls.
- Article 5 lets relatives other than a father or grandfather validate a child’s marriage and requires a court process for a minor to annul the marriage after puberty.
- The United Nations and multiple rights organisations have expressed grave concern that the measure legalises child marriage and makes separation and protection much harder for women.
- Taliban spokespeople defended the law as consistent with their interpretation of Islamic law and said forced marriage is banned, while analysts warn the decree will worsen health, legal and social harms for girls in Afghanistan.