Taliban Legitimises Girl Child Marriage in Afghanistan

The Taliban has introduced a new family law in Afghanistan that removes a fixed minimum age for marriage, raising concerns that the move could further normalise child marriage in the country. The regulation, titled the “Code on Judicial Separation of Spouses,” was approved by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and released by the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice on May 14, 2026.

Under the new law, marriage eligibility is linked strictly to puberty rather than a fixed legal age, effectively allowing girls as young as nine years old to be married. Before the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, Afghanistan’s civil code set the legal marriage age at 16 for girls, while marriages involving girls under 15 were criminalised under the country’s 2009 Elimination of Violence Against Women law.

Now, according to the law, the silence of a “virgin girl” who has reached puberty can legally be interpreted as consent to marriage. The law also reportedly creates additional barriers for women seeking divorce, making it difficult for girls and women to leave marriages against their will if their husbands refuse separation. It further suggests that a woman cannot seek divorce solely on the grounds of abandonment or lack of financial support from her husband.

UN Women Special Representative in Afghanistan, Susan Ferguson, described the legislation as “another serious development” in the erosion of women’s rights under Taliban rule.

The situation comes as Afghanistan continues to face a humanitarian and economic crisis, with the Taliban criticised for restricting women’s rights since 2021. 

Since then, girls have been banned from secondary schools and universities, women’s employment opportunities have been limited, and many institutions that previously supported victims of forced marriage and gender-based violence have been dismantled.