In Afghanistan, the supreme leader of the Taliban on Friday asked the government, in a decree, to “take serious measures to ensure respect for the rights of women” in the country. He mainly spoke of forced marriages. “No one can force a woman to marry,” said Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, ordering courts, governors and several ministries to fight against forced unions, very common in Afghanistan.
with our correspondent in Kabul, Sonia ghezali
The Taliban are accused of forcibly marrying women, including widows, to their fighters. The Islamic emirate denies it. However, some terrified men admit to being pressured by the Taliban to marry their daughter. Several testimonies of women reported in the international press confirm that fathers of families decide to give their daughter in marriage without their consent to the Taliban to ensure their protection.
The misery in which the country is plunged, deprived of development aid since the Taliban took power, pushes families to marry their underage daughters in order to repay debts or to feed themselves. The decree of the supreme leader therefore wants to put an end to these practices which seem to have increased recently.
► Also to listen: Forced marriages in Afghanistan (2013)
Women’s rights activist Mahbouba Seraj welcomes this decree: a first for the Taliban, she said. Indeed, the fundamentalist movement was illustrated when it was in power between 1996 and 2001 by an unprecedented oppression of women. Mahbouba Seraj adds, however, that she is also awaiting a decree on education and the right to work of Afghan women. Indeed, only a few women were allowed to return to work. Colleges, high schools and universities are still largely closed to girls.
► Read also : in Afghanistan, to continue working, women must adapt