"Not A Property": Taliban Decree States Women Shouldn't Be Forced Into Marriage

The Taliban on marriage have issued a decree that women are not "property" and shouldn't be forced into marriage. Their consent should be present when taking the decision forward, the statement released by Zabihillah Muhajid, spokesperson for the extremist Islamist movement presently in control in Afghanistan, mentioned.

"A woman is not a property, but a noble and free human being; no one can give her to anyone in exchange for peace...or to end animosity," the decree read, as reported by Reuters. 

Afghan women and experts, reacting to the order on social media, noted that though the issuance appeared to promote women's rights and agency, the Taliban failed to give word on girl child education, which has come to a halt in the country on the ruling government's orders. Read here

Taliban On Marriage: Progressive Decree, But Will It Come Into Effect?

The Taliban, following their takeover in Afghanistan on August 15, have tried to present a face more moderate than the control they exercised between 1996 and 2001. In press conferences, they have relayed they will allow women greater rights to work, education and public life than they did during the previous regime.

Activists and women citizens, however, have flagged suspicion and concerns over these claims since several human rights violations have been reported from parts of Afghanistan. Follow Afghan women's stories here.

In the early days of the power takeover in Afghanistan, reports surfaced that the Taliban were demanding girls above 15 and widows below 45 years for marriage to their fighters, in what was dubbed a form of sexual violence by human rights watchers and activists. Women in many areas were also pulled up and banned from public jobs and wearing clothes of their choice.

Afghan women SheThePeople spoke to stated that the country had returned to "dark days" under the Taliban with their rights at stake.

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