Just read some news from Afghanistan and honestly,it's just deeply upsetting on so many levels. Taliban have apparently issued a new decree that legalizes child marriage.
So basically,this new law was issued on May 14,2026 . And it allows marriage for girls as soon as they reach puberty. The most disturbing part? It interprets a girl’s silence as her consent to get married .
And obviously,the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has reacted very strongly to this. They are calling it a "grave and systematic violation of international human rights law." Which it is,plain and simple.
The committee is making it very clear ah,puberty does not mean someone is adult or has legal capacity to marry. If one person is under 18,it’s a forced marriage only because children can't give proper informed consent .
And tbh,this is where the whole thing becomes a nightmare.
This kind of marriage just opens up girls to violence and exploitation. It completely cuts off their education and can cause long-term physical and psychological damage. It's not a small thing.
Few things standing out clearly from UN's statement:
- Child marriage is a fundamental violation — The Committee is stressing that these practices violate children's rights and dignity.
- Call for immediate repeal — They are urging the Taliban to withdraw all measures that allow child marriage.
- Impact on girls' education — This decree is just part of wider restrictions that have already taken away education from Afghan girls .
But this isn't some isolated rule . It's part of a bigger pattern of discriminatory measures. We already know about ban on girls' secondary and higher education. This feels like another step to erase girls from public life completely.
The committee that is saying all this is made of 18 independent experts who monitor these rights across the world . So their words carry a lot of weight.
And this condemnation is coming at same time as international pressure is increasing on the regime to respect basic human rights.
It just feels like one step forward and ten steps back for girls there . How can a society ever progress when it actively tries to crush the potential of half its population… I just don't get it.
