The United Nations has voiced “grave concern” over a new decree issued by Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities governing judicial separation between spouses, warning that provisions in the text appear to allow child marriage and weaken requirements for free consent to marriage.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said Afghanistan’s de facto Ministry of Justice published Decree No. 18, a “Code on Judicial Separation of Spouses,” in the official gazette on May 14, 2026.
UNAMA said the decree contains provisions it considers especially troubling, including language stating that the silence of a girl as she reaches puberty can be interpreted as consent to marriage. UNAMA also said a section dealing with the separation of girls who have reached puberty and are married “implies that child marriage is permitted.”
In its statement, UNAMA said the measure undermines the principle of free and full consent and fails to safeguard the best interests of the child. It added that the decree operates in an unequal framework in which men retain a unilateral right to divorce, while women seeking separation must pursue more restrictive judicial pathways, reinforcing structural discrimination.
Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities rejected the U.N. criticism, saying the decree is in line with Islamic law and arguing that forced marriage of girls has already been banned, according to The Associated Press.
