Taliban bans forced marriage of women in Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban decreed on Friday they were banning forced marriage of women in Afghanistan, a move apparently meant to address criteria the international community consider a precondition to recognizing their government and restoring aid to the war-torn country.
The move was announced by the reclusive Taliban chief, Hibatullah Akhunzada, a cleric chosen as the group’s supreme leader who is believed to be in the southern city of Kandahar. It comes as poverty is surging in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover in August amid the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops. Since then, foreign governments have halted funds that had been a mainstay of the economy.
“Both (women and men) should be equal,” said the decree, adding that “no one can force women to marry by coercion or pressure.” Women’s rights improved markedly over the past two decades of international presence in Afghanistan, but are seen as under threat with the return of the Taliban, who during their earlier rule in the 1990s virtually cloistered women, banned them from public life and access to education.
Forced marriages have become more commonplace in the poor, conservative country, as the internally displaced marry off their young daughters in exchange for a bride-price that can be used to pay debts and feed their families.
The decree did not mention a minimum age for marriage, which previously was set at 16 years old.
AP Photo/Bram Janssen
Women leave a Shiite shrine in a predominantly Hazara neighborhood in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Nov. 9, 2021.
Women in Afghanistan for decades were treated like property — as an exchange token for blood money or ending disputes or tribal feuds. The Taliban now state they are against the practice. They also said a widow will now be allowed to re-marry 17 weeks after her husband’s death, choosing her new husband freely.
Longstanding tribal traditions have held it customary for a widow to marry one of her husband’s brothers or relatives in the event of his death.
The Taliban leadership says it has ordered Afghan courts to treat women fairly, especially widows seeking inheritance as next of kin. The group also says it has asked government ministers to spread awareness of women’s rights across the population.
Friday’s announcement comes as thousands of girls from grades seven to 12 are still not allowed to attend school, and a majority of women have been banned from returning to their jobs since the Taliban takeover.
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File
FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2001 file photo, Northern Alliance soldiers watch as U.S. air strikes pound Taliban positions in Kunduz province near the town of Khanabad, Afghanistan. It has been 20 years since Taliban-led Afghanistan fell to a U.S.-led coalition in the months after the Sept. 11 attacks. For Afghans, that means 20 years of change.
AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, FileFILE - In this Nov. 19, 2001 file photo, Northern Alliance soldiers watch as U.S. air strikes pound Taliban positions in Kunduz province near the town of Khanabad, Afghanistan. It has been 20 years since Taliban-led Afghanistan fell to a U.S.-led coalition in the months after the Sept. 11 attacks. For Afghans, that means 20 years of change.
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/Dusan Vranic, File
FILE - In this Nov. 24, 2001 file photo, a column of Taliban fighters go through the front line in the village of Amirabad, northern Afghanistan, as hundreds of Taliban defected to the northern alliance, paving the way for the fall of Kunduz where several thousand foreign fighters are thought to remain.
AP Photo/Dusan Vranic, FileFILE - In this Nov. 24, 2001 file photo, a column of Taliban fighters go through the front line in the village of Amirabad, northern Afghanistan, as hundreds of Taliban defected to the northern alliance, paving the way for the fall of Kunduz where several thousand foreign fighters are thought to remain.
-
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File
FILE - In this Dec. 10, 2001 file photo, an Afghan anti-Taliban fighter pops up from his tank to spot a U.S. warplane bombing al-Qaida fighters in the White Mountains of Tora Bora in Afghanistan. Anti-Taliban forces and U.S. warplanes continued to hit the Tora Bora mountains and the al-Qaida fighters occupying the area.
AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, FileFILE - In this Dec. 10, 2001 file photo, an Afghan anti-Taliban fighter pops up from his tank to spot a U.S. warplane bombing al-Qaida fighters in the White Mountains of Tora Bora in Afghanistan. Anti-Taliban forces and U.S. warplanes continued to hit the Tora Bora mountains and the al-Qaida fighters occupying the area.
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File
FILE - In this March 21, 2006 file photo, men play the traditional game Buzkashi in Kabul, Afghanistan, in a special match held as part of celebrations for the New Year. According the solar calendar used in Afghanistan, the year is 1385.
AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, FileFILE - In this March 21, 2006 file photo, men play the traditional game Buzkashi in Kabul, Afghanistan, in a special match held as part of celebrations for the New Year. According the solar calendar used in Afghanistan, the year is 1385.
-
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File
FILE - In this Nov. 22, 2006 file photo, a Canadian soldier, and a soldier from the Afghan National Army, behind wall, walk along a destroyed grape drying silo at the Canadian base near the town of Zhari in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan. The holes in the wall are for mounting sticks for drying grapes.
AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, FileFILE - In this Nov. 22, 2006 file photo, a Canadian soldier, and a soldier from the Afghan National Army, behind wall, walk along a destroyed grape drying silo at the Canadian base near the town of Zhari in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan. The holes in the wall are for mounting sticks for drying grapes.
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File
FILE - In this May 11, 2009 file photo, soldiers from the U.S. Army First Battalion, 26th Infantry take defensive positions at firebase Restrepo after receiving fire from Taliban positions in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan's Kunar Province. Spc. Zachary Boyd of Fort Worth, Texas, left, was wearing "I love NY" boxer shorts after rushing from his sleeping quarters to join his fellow platoon members, at right, Spc. Cecil Montgomery of Many, La., and Jordan Custer of Spokan, Wash., center.
AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, FileFILE - In this May 11, 2009 file photo, soldiers from the U.S. Army First Battalion, 26th Infantry take defensive positions at firebase Restrepo after receiving fire from Taliban positions in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan's Kunar Province. Spc. Zachary Boyd of Fort Worth, Texas, left, was wearing "I love NY" boxer shorts after rushing from his sleeping quarters to join his fellow platoon members, at right, Spc. Cecil Montgomery of Many, La., and Jordan Custer of Spokan, Wash., center.
-
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File
FILE - In this Aug. 6, 2009 file photo, a child watches military vehicles of 5th Striker Brigades drive past his village on the outskirts of Spin Boldak, about 100 kilometers (63 miles) southeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan.
AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, FileFILE - In this Aug. 6, 2009 file photo, a child watches military vehicles of 5th Striker Brigades drive past his village on the outskirts of Spin Boldak, about 100 kilometers (63 miles) southeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan.
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/Dusan Vranic, File
FILE - In this June 24, 2010 file photo, farmers harvest wheat outside Kabul, Afghanistan.
AP Photo/Dusan Vranic, FileFILE - In this June 24, 2010 file photo, farmers harvest wheat outside Kabul, Afghanistan.
-
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File
FILE - In this July 12, 2010 file photo, people walk through a market in downtown Kabul, Afghanistan.
AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, FileFILE - In this July 12, 2010 file photo, people walk through a market in downtown Kabul, Afghanistan.
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File
FILE - In this July 30, 2010 file photo, a U.S. medevac helicopter arrives for Spc. Jeremy Kuehl, 24, of Altoona, Iowa, from the 1-320th Alpha Battery, 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, who was seriously wounded when he stepped on an improvised mine near Command Outpost Nolen, in the volatile Arghandab Valley of Kandahar, Afghanistan.
AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, FileFILE - In this July 30, 2010 file photo, a U.S. medevac helicopter arrives for Spc. Jeremy Kuehl, 24, of Altoona, Iowa, from the 1-320th Alpha Battery, 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, who was seriously wounded when he stepped on an improvised mine near Command Outpost Nolen, in the volatile Arghandab Valley of Kandahar, Afghanistan.
-
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File
FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2010 file photo, U.S. Air Force pararescue members ride in the back of their medevac helicopter with the American flag draped over bodies of U.S. soldiers who were killed in a roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan's Kandahar province.
AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, FileFILE - In this Oct. 10, 2010 file photo, U.S. Air Force pararescue members ride in the back of their medevac helicopter with the American flag draped over bodies of U.S. soldiers who were killed in a roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan's Kandahar province.
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File
FILE - In this Oct. 31, 2010 file photo, children play on a market cart in the old part of Kabul, Afghanistan.
AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, FileFILE - In this Oct. 31, 2010 file photo, children play on a market cart in the old part of Kabul, Afghanistan.
-
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/Dusan Vranic, File
FILE - In this Nov. 3, 2010 file photo, First Sgt. Yomen English, of Brookland, Ark., with India company, 3rd Battalion 5th Marines, First Marine Division, talks to a boy during a patrol, in Sangin, Afghanistan.
AP Photo/Dusan Vranic, FileFILE - In this Nov. 3, 2010 file photo, First Sgt. Yomen English, of Brookland, Ark., with India company, 3rd Battalion 5th Marines, First Marine Division, talks to a boy during a patrol, in Sangin, Afghanistan.
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File
FILE - In this Dec. 27, 2010 file photo, a woman carries water in a plastic container as she ascends a slope on the way towards her home in Kabul, Afghanistan.
AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, FileFILE - In this Dec. 27, 2010 file photo, a woman carries water in a plastic container as she ascends a slope on the way towards her home in Kabul, Afghanistan.
-
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File
FILE - In this Jan. 3, 2011 file photo, a balloon seller riding a bicycle looks towards a woman holding hands with two young girls at a market in Kabul, Afghanistan.
AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, FileFILE - In this Jan. 3, 2011 file photo, a balloon seller riding a bicycle looks towards a woman holding hands with two young girls at a market in Kabul, Afghanistan.
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/Ahmad Jamshid, File
FILE - In this Sept, 8, 2012 file photo, Afghans carry a wreath of flowers during a ceremony commemorating the 11th anniversary of the death of Ahmad Shah Massoud in Kabul, Afghanistan. The charismatic Northern Alliance commander was killed in an al-Qaida suicide bombing two days before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Urdu writing on wreath reads, "From the Gulam Haidar Khan High School."
AP Photo/Ahmad Jamshid, FileFILE - In this Sept, 8, 2012 file photo, Afghans carry a wreath of flowers during a ceremony commemorating the 11th anniversary of the death of Ahmad Shah Massoud in Kabul, Afghanistan. The charismatic Northern Alliance commander was killed in an al-Qaida suicide bombing two days before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Urdu writing on wreath reads, "From the Gulam Haidar Khan High School."
-
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File
FILE - In this May 13, 2013 file photo, a boy flies his kite on a hill overlooking Kabul, Afghanistan. Kite flying was banned during the Taliban regime.
AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, FileFILE - In this May 13, 2013 file photo, a boy flies his kite on a hill overlooking Kabul, Afghanistan. Kite flying was banned during the Taliban regime.
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File
FILE - In this Nov. 25, 2013 file photo, police officers smoke a water pipe as they enjoy a quiet moment at their checkpoint overlooking Kabul, Afghanistan.
AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, FileFILE - In this Nov. 25, 2013 file photo, police officers smoke a water pipe as they enjoy a quiet moment at their checkpoint overlooking Kabul, Afghanistan.
-
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File
FILE - In this Nov. 26, 2013 file photo, Afghan Army soldiers participate in morning exercises at a training facility in the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan.
AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, FileFILE - In this Nov. 26, 2013 file photo, Afghan Army soldiers participate in morning exercises at a training facility in the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan.
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/Zabi Karimi, File
FILE - In this Aug. 15, 2021 file photo, Taliban fighters take control of Afghan presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.
AP Photo/Zabi Karimi, FileFILE - In this Aug. 15, 2021 file photo, Taliban fighters take control of Afghan presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.
-
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File
FILE - In this Aug. 15, 2021 file photo, a U.S. Chinook helicopter flies over the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. Helicopters are landing at the embassy as diplomatic vehicles are leaving the compound amid the Taliban advance on the Afghan capital.
AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, FileFILE - In this Aug. 15, 2021 file photo, a U.S. Chinook helicopter flies over the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. Helicopters are landing at the embassy as diplomatic vehicles are leaving the compound amid the Taliban advance on the Afghan capital.
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesAP Photo/Shekib Rahmani, File
FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2021 file photo, U.S. soldiers stand guard along the perimeter at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.
AP Photo/Shekib Rahmani, FileFILE - In this Aug. 16, 2021 file photo, U.S. soldiers stand guard along the perimeter at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.
-
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesSenior Airman Taylor Crul/U.S. Air Force via AP, File
FILE - In this Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021 photo provided by the U.S. Air Force, aircrew assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron assist qualified evacuees boarding a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft in support of the Afghanistan evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan.
Senior Airman Taylor Crul/U.S. Air Force via AP, FileFILE - In this Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021 photo provided by the U.S. Air Force, aircrew assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron assist qualified evacuees boarding a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft in support of the Afghanistan evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan.
-
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugeesStaff Sgt. Victor Mancilla/U.S. Marine Corps via AP, File
FILE - In this Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021 photo provided by the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Marines with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force - Crisis Response - Central Command, provide assistance during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan.
Staff Sgt. Victor Mancilla/U.S. Marine Corps via AP, FileFILE - In this Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021 photo provided by the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Marines with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force - Crisis Response - Central Command, provide assistance during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan.
