UN gravely concerned by an Afghan Taliban law that has provisions on child marriage

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: World UN gravely concerned by an Afghan Taliban law that has provisions on child marriage May 22, 20261:48 AM ET By The Associated Press FILE: Zareena, left, and Shakeela, internally displaced Afghan girls play outside a shanty at a refugee camp in the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, July 25, 2011. Dar Yasin/AP hide caption toggle caption Dar Yasin/AP KABUL, Afghanistan — The United Nations expressed "grave concern" on Thursday about a new law issued by Afghanistan's Taliban government on separation in marriage which includes provisions on child marriage, saying the code further entrenches discrimination against women and girls. The government rejected the accusations, saying the decree follows Islamic law and insisting the country has already banned the forced marriage of girls.

Global Health Why young girls are disguised as boys in Afghanistan Afghanistan's justice ministry published Decree No. 18 "on judicial separation of spouses" last week, which sets out rules for separation of a married couple. Among its most controversial provisions, it says that the silence of a girl reaching puberty can be interpreted as consent to marriage.

The Details

It also includes a section on the separation of girls who reach puberty and are married, which "implies that child marriage is permitted," the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a statement. Sponsor Message "This undermines the principle of free and full consent and failing to safeguard the best interests of the child," it said. The decree stipulates that a marriage can be ruled invalid "if a father or grandfather has given a minor girl or boy without any dowry, not enough dowry or obscene embezzlement.

" It also says that a girl given away in marriage by her father or grandfather to a man who "has not treated her with kindness or is well-known for his bad choices... has the right to approach the court to cancel the marriage contract upon reaching puberty. " However, if a girl asks her husband for a divorce and he denies it, "then in this case, there are no witnesses with the girl, the husband's word is valid," the new law says.

She does not need witnesses if she makes the request before a judge. Women and girls already face widespread discrimination in Afghanistan, with laws dictating how they must dress and behave. They are banned from secondary school and universities and from most jobs, as well as from nearly all leisure activities, including gyms, beauty salons and even from public parks.

18 is part of a broader and deeply concerning trajectory in which the rights of Afghan women and girls are being eroded," said Georgette Gagnon, the U. 's Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and officer in charge of UNAMA. Sponsor Message While the law allows for women to separate from their husbands, it makes it much harder for them to do so than it does for men.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.