Version imprimableFebruary 20, 2026
The National Federation of Indian Women strongly condemns the reported penal code introduced in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule and authority of Hibatullah Akhundzada, and stands in solidarity with the Afghan women in their struggle for justice.
The new code is the “legalising” of domestic violence - permitting husbands to physically punish wives and children so long as there are no “broken bones or open wounds”. This represents a grave assault on the fundamental principles of women’s rights, human dignity, justice, and equality before the law. It institutionalises violence within the family and strips women of their most basic human right: the right to live free from fear and bodily harm. Conditioning accountability on a woman’s ability to prove abuse in court, while requiring her to appear fully covered and accompanied by a male guardian, further entrenches systemic discrimination and silences survivors.
Equally alarming is the formal stratification of society into categories based on religious or social status, where punishment varies according to whether the accused is considered a religious scholar, elite, middle class, or lower class. Such a system violates the universal principle of equality before the law, enshrined in international human rights standards including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Justice cannot coexist with a hierarchy that shields the powerful and intensifies punishment for the marginalized.
The abolition of the 2009 Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) dismantles hard-won protections that recognised gender-based violence as a crime rather than a private matter. The 2009 EVAW law criminalised many forms of violence against women. Replacing legal safeguards with clerical corporal punishment and suppressing public discussion of the code undermines due process, freedom of expression, and the rule of law itself.
From a human rights perspective, these measures collectively amount to State-sanctioned gender discrimination and normalization of domestic abuse. In addition, there is denial of equal protection under the law and suppression of any civic and legal recourse. Any legal system that legitimises violence against women and creates caste-based justice stands in direct contradiction to international norms of equality, dignity, and non-discrimination.
Afghanistan’s history demonstrated a progressive stance toward gender equality within its society. Women have voted, studied, legislated, and led in Afghanistan before. The current regression is therefore an enforced political misogynistic choice. There was a time when girls’ education was promoted and Afghan women were sent abroad for higher studies. Forced marriages were discouraged. Constitutional reforms were made promoting modernization. Women served in parliament, judiciary, media, and civil society
- Women’s rights, human rights, and equality before the law are universal rights/standards and should not be allowed to be so easily dismantled by a regressive patriarchal society.
- The international community, including the United Nations and global human rights bodies, must urgently examine mechanisms of accountability, humanitarian protection, and diplomatic pressure to prevent further regression in the rights and safety of Afghan women and girls.
Thanking you,
Dr. Syeda Hameed, President
Nisha Siddhu, General Secretary
