The Taliban has quietly enacted a sweeping criminal regulation in Afghanistan that legalizes violence against women and girls, revives the legal language of enslavement, and entrenches a rigid, patriarchal system of control that strips women of autonomy, dignity, and legal protection.

Signed by the Taliban’s emir on 07 January 2026, the regulation consists of 119 articles, 3 chapters, and 10 sections governing criminal procedure and punishment. It took effect immediately without public announcement, consultation, or debate. The law only became known weeks later after Afghan human rights organization Rawadari obtained and published the Pashto text, triggering alarm among international observers and rights groups.

At its core, the regulation formalizes violence as a lawful tool of social discipline, particularly against women. Under Article 4(5), it explicitly allows discretionary punishment, known as tazeer, to be carried out not only by judges but also by private individuals, including husbands and so-called “masters.” This provision effectively legalizes domestic violence and vigilante punishment under the banner of enforcing morality.

Under the new framework, husbands are permitted to physically punish their wives. Under Article 32, severe domestic abuse is treated as a minor offense, with a maximum penalty of 15 days’ imprisonment, even when injuries such as fractures or visible bruising occur. By contrast, the regulation imposes harsher penalties for harm inflicted on animals under Article 70, signaling a legal hierarchy in which women’s bodily integrity is valued less than animal welfare.

The law further criminalizes women’s autonomy and freedom of movement. Under Article 34, women who leave their marital home without their husband’s permission, even to stay with relatives, may be imprisoned alongside family members who refuse to return them. This effectively eliminates women’s right to seek safety, shelter, or independence, and turns family members into enforcers of confinement.

Religious belief is also weaponized against women. Article 58 mandates life imprisonment for women accused of apostasy, accompanied by repeated corporal punishment. The provision applies only to women, institutionalizing gender-based punishment for belief and placing women at constant risk of arbitrary accusation and abuse.

Beyond gender-based violence, the regulation explicitly abandons equality before the law. Under Article 9, the regulation divides society into “free” and “enslaved” persons and further stratifies the population into four social classes. Punishment is determined by social status rather than conduct. Religious scholars and elites receive warnings, while poorer individuals face imprisonment, beatings, or flogging. The law formally recognizes enslavement as a legal status, directly contradicting international law and modern Islamic consensus on human dignity.

The regulation also criminalizes dissent, speech, and even silence. Criticism of Taliban leadership is punishable by imprisonment and lashes. Individuals who fail to report perceived opposition activity may be jailed, effectively forcing citizens to surveil and police one another. Punishment may be imposed even in the absence of a crime, including against children, further normalizing coercion within families and communities.

Taken together, these provisions institutionalize a system in which women are treated as dependents rather than rights-holders, subjected to legalized violence, restricted movement, and religious coercion. The law transforms private abuse into state-sanctioned punishment and embeds misogyny and patriarchy into Afghanistan’s legal structure.

The regulation stands in direct conflict with international human rights law, including prohibitions against torture, slavery, and gender discrimination, as well as Afghanistan’s obligations under global treaties. It also contradicts foundational Islamic principles of justice, equality, and human dignity by replacing lawful process with private violence and class-based punishment.

Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban has systematically erased women from public life, banning girls’ education beyond primary school, restricting women’s employment, and enforcing morality laws that police women’s appearance, movement, and voices. This new regulation represents a further escalation, codifying gender-based persecution into law.

Human rights advocates warn that normalizing such violence will have long-term consequences for Afghan society. Women and girls face a future defined by fear, dependence, and sanctioned abuse, while children grow up in a system where violence and inequality are taught as law.

The regulation marks a decisive step backward from human rights and legal accountability, reinforcing a worldview that treats women as less than men and legitimizes harm as governance.