Young Afghan Woman Fights for Freedom Amid Taliban’s Legal Regime
A young woman is seeking refuge in a neighboring country, holding tightly to divorce documents that symbolize her struggle against a forced marriage. Bibi Nazdana, who fought for two years to obtain her divorce from a childhood betrothal as a child bride, finds her legal victory stripped away under the Taliban’s harsh interpretation of Sharia law.
Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan three years ago, they have invalidated numerous court rulings, including Nazdana’s, denying her the freedom she had tirelessly pursued. Just ten days after the Taliban entered Kabul, her former husband appealed the divorce ruling, citing Sharia law, which has effectively silenced women’s voices in the legal system.
At just 15, Nazdana resisted family pressure to marry Hekmatullah, a decision her father had made years earlier as part of a so-called ‘bad marriage’. After seeking a separation through the courts, she eventually received a ruling affirming her freedom. However, after Hekmatullah’s appeal, she was barred from presenting her case in court, where the Taliban insisted her brother speak on her behalf.
Despite her brother Shams’s attempts to explain the dangers Nazdana faced, their pleas fell on deaf ears, leading them to the harrowing decision to flee their homeland to ensure their safety.
When the Taliban came into power, they promised to enhance justice under their interpretation of Islamic law. They have reportedly reviewed over 355,000 cases, the majority being criminal or family-related. However, unearthing past rulings like Nazdana’s reveals a systematic rollback of women’s rights within the justice system.
The Taliban have replaced judges who might uphold women’s rights with those who share their extreme views, effectively ostracizing women from participating in the judicial process. “Women aren’t qualified or able to judge because, in our Sharia principles, the judiciary work requires high intelligence,” stated a Taliban official.
Former judges, like Fawzia Amini, who fled after the Taliban’s return, lament the loss of progress made in protecting women under Afghan law, pointing to achievements such as the Elimination of Violence against Women law.
Amidst her plight, Nazdana expresses her deep anguish: “I have knocked on many doors for help, including seeking assistance from organizations, but no one has listened to my voice. Where is the support? Don’t I deserve freedom as a woman?” As she sits beneath a tree, clutching her divorce papers, her call for help resonates in a world that seems indifferent to her struggle.
