A new criminal code enacted by the Taliban has institutionalized slavery, permitted the corporal punishment of children, and mandated the death penalty for political “rebels,” according to a detailed analysis by rights watchdog Rawadari.
The 119-article document, which was reportedly signed into law by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and distributed to provincial judiciaries this week, has drawn immediate condemnation for its stark departure from international human rights standards.
Institutionalized Slavery and Child Abuse
In a move that defies global legal norms, the code explicitly recognizes the status of “slaves.” Article 15 and Article 4 of the text repeatedly use the term to distinguish between citizens.
”For any crime for which no fixed ‘hudud’ punishment is prescribed, discretionary punishment shall be imposed, whether the offender is free or a slave,” the code states, effectively formalizing a class of unfree persons within the state.
The code also fails to protect minors from state-sanctioned violence. While Article 30 prohibits physical violence that results in “bone fractures” or “tearing of the skin,” it leaves children vulnerable to all other forms of physical and psychological abuse. Furthermore, Article 48 explicitly empowers fathers to “punish” their 10-year-old sons for neglecting religious duties such as prayer.
Death for Dissent
The legal framework adopts a scorched-earth policy toward political opposition. Labeling critics and opponents as “rebels” and “agents of corruption,” the code grants judicial bodies the authority to issue death sentences, arguing that the harm caused by such individuals “cannot be remedied without killing.”
In a move that observers say encourages vigilantism, Article 4, Clause 6, permits any citizen to personally administer punishment if they witness a “sin” being committed.
”Any Muslim who sees a person committing a sin has the right to punish them,” the provision reads. Additionally, the code mandates a two-year prison sentence for any citizen who fails to report “subversive meetings” of the opposition to the authorities.
A Divided Society
Rawadari’s report highlights that the new law codifies a rigid social hierarchy, where the severity of punishment is determined by a person’s class. The code divides society into four tiers: religious scholars, elites, the middle class, and the “lower class.”
”If a crime is committed by a religious scholar, only advice is given,” the watchdog noted. In contrast, members of the “lower class” face both imprisonment and corporal punishment for the same offenses.
The code also targets cultural and religious freedoms, criminalizing “dancing” and “watching dance,” while institutionalizing discrimination against non-Sunni Muslims. Followers of sects outside the Hanafi school are labeled as “innovators” or “heretics,” with Article 26 prescribing two years in prison for any person proven to have abandoned the Hanafi sect.
The international community has yet to issue a formal response to the document, but rights groups warn that the code marks a definitive end to any remaining semblance of a fair trial or individual liberty in Afghanistan.
