Issuing New Decree: Taliban Says Women Are Not Property, Can't Be Forced Into Marriage

Afghan woman illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/ninara)

JAKARTA - Afghanistan's government under the leadership of the Taliban issued a decree on women's rights on Friday, calling women not 'property', but not mentioning women's access to education and work outside the home.

The Taliban have come under pressure from the international community, which has largely frozen funding for Afghanistan, to commit to upholding women's rights since the hardline group took over the country on August 15.

"A woman is not property, but a noble and free human being. No one can give her to anyone in exchange for peace, or to end hostilities," reads a Taliban decree released by spokesman Zabihullah Muhajid, citing Reuters on December 3.

This decree established rules governing marriage and property for women, stating that women should not be forced into marriage and widows should have a share in the property of their late husbands.

"The courts must consider the rules when making decisions, and the ministries of religion and information must promote these rights," the decree said.

However, the decree does not state that women can work or access facilities outside the home or education, which are of major concern to the international community.

During the previous government from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban banned girls from receiving education, women left their homes without male relatives and covered their faces and heads.

The Taliban say they have changed and secondary schools for girls in some provinces have been allowed to open. However, many women and rights defenders remain skeptical.

Meanwhile, the international community has frozen billions of dollars in central bank funds and aid spending for Afghanistan, making women's rights a key element for the continuation of the relationship or the thawing of the freeze.

To note, Afghanistan, which is also suffering from a banking liquidity crisis as cash flows dry up due to sanctions, is at risk of an economic collapse since the Taliban took over.