Human rights experts contend that the latest penal code issued by the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan institutionalizes discrimination against women and affirms a system of class-based justice. Titled “Decree 12,” this new code replaces the previous penal code that was in effect before the Taliban regained power in 2021. The decree consists of 119 articles and 60 pages and was signed by Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada in January 2023.
According to the Associated Press, El Pais and The Independent, the new penal code declares that a man can spend up to 15 days in prison only if he…wait for it..beats a woman so badly that she has a visible mark on her. However, she must present evidence of this abuse before the courts. The new penal code does not address any other forms of physical, psychological or sexual abuse against women. WOW!
Women’s Lives Prioritized Less Than Animals???
The new penal code also prescribes harsher penalties for engaging in animal and bird fights than for committing domestic violence against women. What kind of boy math is that, fs?
For example, anyone convicted of organising an animal or bird fight could receive a penalty of up to five months in jail. Prior to the return of the Taliban to power in 2021, these activities were regarded as part of the cultural heritage of Afghanistan and were common forms of entertainment.
Harsher Penalties for Animal Cruelty than for Domestic Violence against Women have been reported by the Associated Press while highlighting that animal-based protectorates appear higher in prioritization than sexual assault based legislation. The disparity between punishment for animal abuse versus that of sexual abuse has been condemned by Fawzia Koofi (former Afghan parliamentarian) in El Pais, who said “It’s good that cruelty to animals is penalized, but now it’s clear that the physical integrity of a bird is valued more than that of a woman.”
This Is Not All!
The decree defines penalties regarding a woman’s right to visit family without consent from a husband and gives the husband/household head authority to impose punishment as they deem appropriate in their/their families’ home. Repeated violation of the decree regarding visitation rights by the woman’s father may result in a 3-month incarceration sentence. Additionally, the decree uses the term master in reference to husbands, indicating the existence of superior authority of male over female. Um, are we back in the 1900s?
An Afghan journalist named Zahra Joya, founder of Rukhshana Media (a women-based rights organization) stated in El Pais: “This new Taliban penal code tramples on Afghan law and grants men supervisory and disciplinary authority. Women are treated almost like slaves, with no control over their own lives and bodies.”
According to the Afghan Penal Code, any Muslim who sees a ‘sin’ can punish the person committing the sin for the ‘prevention of vice’. This allows the individual to act on behalf of the law, empowering them to punish women as a result of the act of observing a sin and reporting it to the authorities.
The Afghan human rights organization, Rawadari, warned in the newspaper El País about this new Penal Code; it is formalizing discrimination towards minorities and eliminating basic rights and freedoms, creating the risk of more violence and a higher chance of violence being institutionalized towards women.
Institutionalized Gender Inequality
The United Nations has condemned the decree several times.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk stated to the Human Rights Council in Geneva (reported by AP), that, “defines several crimes and punishments that contravene Afghanistan’s international legal obligations.”
Additionally, he stated that, “it provides for the use of corporal punishment for numerous offenses, including in the home, legitimizing violence against women and children. And it criminalizes criticism of the de facto leadership and their policies, in violation of freedom of expression and assembly.”
Afghan authorities were urged to reverse the decree.
Susan Ferguson, the UN Special Representative on the Condition of Women in Afghanistan, provided remarks to The Associated Press that illustrated the decree as she said that it “formally removes equality between men and women before the law” and “places husbands in a position of authority over their wives and limits women’s ability to seek protection or justice.”
This is a messed up UNO reverse no one wanted.
Koofi highlighted the difficulties of seeking justice in light of this situation, and asked El País, “In a place without a real judicial system, without defense lawyers or institutions that protect women, how can you believe that a woman will go to court knowing that 15 days later her husband will be free again and can kill her for having reported him?”
There Are 4 Kinds Of People In Afghanistan???
The new penal code does not provide the same legal rights to all Afghan citizens.
The society of Afghanistan has been defined into four strata: scholars, elite, middle class, and lower class. In the case of identical offences, judges will impose differing penalties on different offenders based on their respective social strata.
For example, scholars and “high ranking people” will receive either a warning or a judicial order for their first offence. In other words, tribal leaders and businessmen will receive at least one warning and/or a summons to the court on their first offence. Conversely, the “average people of society” will go to jail on their first offence, while individuals in the “lower class” will receive corporal punishment on their first offence.
SIR WHAT????
The law mandates that if a person is punished with lashes, the punishment cannot exceed 39 lashes, according to information gathered by The Associated Press, and the lashes must be applied to “different parts of the body.”
These limitations on punishment lead to a progressive loss of equality under the law.
Former Afghan diplomat Nigara Mirdad has informed El País that the penal code of Afghanistan has provisions that conflict with the international agreements Afghanistan has signed, including the 1990 Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, adopted by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. The declaration reaffirms that “the dignity and protection of all human beings” will be guaranteed.
Violence Against Children and the Law
The law addresses violence against children only in a minimal way, like seriously, it is bare minimum x 10000.
When teachers are guilty of physical violence toward students, the only instances when teaching staff can be charged with physical violence are if the injury involves “broken bones,” “torn skin,” or “bruises.” What in the world?
No other forms of physical violence, psychological violence, or sexual violence are prohibited in the current penal code.
Human rights experts believe that this failure to address multiple forms of violence against children increases the risk of them being victimized and gives the state the impression that it will only take action where there is a serious case of violence against a child. Way to give children trauma for life, bro!
Ruko Zara, Sabr Karo! New Restrictions On Women
Since being re-established after the August 2021 Taliban takeover, Afghan authorities have issued over 130 new restrictions on women’s rights and social participation.
And we thought we could not be more disappointed. The Taliban went, “Hold my mic.”
Afghan girls, over 12 years old, have been barred from attending school, a decision that El País states is ““something unheard of elsewhere in the world,” and have been banned from almost all work. A recent UN Women report, referenced by El País, indicates that 80% of women are excluded from work and education.
Experts who spoke with El País describe the Afghanistan penal code as “a painful confirmation” of how Afghan women live every day under the Taliban. As stated by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, the penal code is “It codifies an ideological system in which punishment, surveillance, and coercion are core instruments of governance.”
1232727th day of hoping for a little humanity and sensitivity for women around the world!!