New Taliban rules tie marriage age to puberty

The Taliban government in Afghanistan has introduced new family law provisions that have drawn significant international criticism, particularly regarding marriage and women’s rights.

According to Afghan media outlets and human rights organisations, the updated regulations remove the previously established minimum marriage age for girls and instead link eligibility for marriage to the onset of puberty, British media reports.

Under Afghanistan’s former 1977 Civil Code, the legal marriage age was 16 for girls and 18 for boys, while marriages below 15 were prohibited under the 2009 Elimination of Violence Against Women law. Critics argue that the new framework effectively permits child marriage because puberty may begin at a very young age.

One of the most controversial provisions reportedly allows a girl’s silence to be interpreted as consent to marriage once she has reached puberty. Human rights groups and international observers, including Afghan advocacy organizations, have expressed concern that this weakens protections for minors and may increase forced marriages and abuse.

The Taliban leadership has not publicly framed the policy as promoting child marriage, but rather as aligning legal practice with their interpretation of Islamic law and traditional social norms. Supporters within the Taliban argue that family matters should be governed according to religious principles rather than Western legal standards.

The law also outlines limited circumstances in which marriages involving minors may be challenged in Taliban courts, such as cases involving abusive or unfit guardians. However, rights advocates state that the legal thresholds for obtaining divorce or annulment remain extremely restrictive, especially for women facing domestic abuse.

By Aghakazim Guliyev